The Kingdom Awaits
by ShadowHunter303
Summary: Clary lived a fairly normal life until one day when a random boy comes up to her and tells her everything she's ever known is a lie. The day of her high school graduation she's met by this boy again, along with an entire royal party telling her she's the heir to the throne of a country called Idris. The war is over and they want her to come home. What will happen in this new land?
1. Coffee and Gold

**Welcome to The Kingdom Awaits. A fantasy of a fantasy world. Hope y'all like it.**

"Clary, wake up! Today's the day." Camille, Clary's foster mother, yanked back the curtains of her window. Clary groaned loudly and pulled the covers over her head.

"You mean the day I die? Finally." Clary mumbled. Camille pulled the blankets off of the girl despite the groans of protests and stood at the edge of her bed with her hands on her hips.

"No, I mean it's the last day of school. Now get up, you don't want to be late." Clary sat up reluctantly at the woman's words and rubbed her eyes.

"Do I have to go? We're literally going for like three hours and then coming back home."

"I don't care, I'm in charge of you and as long as I'm in charge you have to go to school." Camille threw a shirt at Clary and then rummaged through her dresser for a clean pair of pants.

"Technically, now that I'm 18 I'm an adult and you're not really in charge of me." Clary yanked on the shirt with a smile and Camille glared at her. The woman was only in her late 20's so it was easy for Clary to have felt close to her because they didn't have much of an age gap.

"I care too much about you to let you start making your own decisions." Camille grinned back at Clary as she shoved a pair of shorts at her. "I've got pancakes for you before you leave so hurry!" She screamed as she left the room.

Clary shook her head with a smile as she fully got dressed. Today was going to be great. Not because Clary got to leave school early and hang out with her friends all day, no. It was precisely the opposite of that. Being a foster kid meant that Clary had to move around a lot and that made it hard to make friends. So when she came to Camille's house before her junior year Clary had decided she wouldn't even try to make friends, it wasn't worth it.

So today would be great because school would end and Clary would get to come back home and hang out with Camille. She wouldn't have to sit with all the kids she despised for more than a few measly hours and that was cause for celebration.

Of course, Clary knew that in a few days she would have to return to her school for graduation. That was cause for celebration too obviously, but Clary wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest. She had managed to become valedictorian and would have to make a speech. As it turns out, having no friends frees up a lot of time for studying.

Clary finally left her room and entered the kitchen to find that her two foster brothers were fighting over who got the largest pancake. Clary laughed as she watched them and stood at Camille's side who simply shook her head.

"I offered to make some more but..." She motioned to the fight as if that would be enough to explain.

"Jonathon! Sebastian!" The two boys looked up at Clary who still had a large grin on her face. She didn't even say anything for the two to stop.

"Sorry." They said simultaneously. They weren't twins or related for that matter, but they certainly acted like they were.

"Okay, I should go. I'll see you in a bit, Camille. Bye Jon, bye Seb." Clary called out to her family as she ran for the door. She drove to school but it was already getting late and it was a 15-minute drive.

* * *

At school, Clary keeps her head low and just maneuvers from class to class. She always brings her drawing pad and usually no one bothers her but today was different, it didn't matter what anyone said today because they might never see each other again. So there were no rules, not even between lifelong friends...

 _20 more minutes._ Clary thought looking down at her phone. _20 more minutes and I can leave this hellhole._ It should be easy to get through 20 minutes, right? That would indeed be true if Kaelie Whitewillow wasn't in her class.

Every school or more so every grade has the queen bee. The girl who thinks she's the best just because she's pretty and popular. She's the one who gets all the guys, is the captain of the cheer squad and somehow always gets away with being an absolute and complete-

"Clary, right?" Kaelie suddenly appears in the seat in front of Clary. She twists around and leans her elbows on Clary's desk.

"Yeah," Clary replies sharply. She notices that Kaelie's arm is on her sketchpad and yanks the book backward. Kaelie gives Clary a poison grin after having to readjust her posture.

"What's that?" Kaelie questions the sketchpad and Clary begins to regret drawing attention to the object by yanking it out from under Kaelie's arm.

"Nothing, just a notebook I draw in." Clary shakes her head. "Listen, no offense or anything, but you've never really talked to me before, so could you just tell me what you want and leave me alone."

Kaelie looks slightly taken aback by this comment but she simply narrows her eyes and grins. "I just wanted to wish you a great summer." Kaelie turns to get up but then 'accidentally' drops whatever sort of drink she had been holding. Clary jolts up from her seat as the liquid spreads across the desk and drips all over her pants and her sketchpad.

"Oops, spilled my coffee," Kaelie says with a mock pout. "My bad."

Clary fights back the urge to yell at her, it's what she wants after all. Instead, Clary regains her composure and shakes her sketchpad dry a little. "No problem at all, at least it wasn't hot."

The bell rings and Clary waves to Kaelie as she leaves. The girl just glares back at Clary before flipping her hair and leaving with her friends.

The moment Clary gets to her car she throws her stuff in and attempts to pat her legs dry. After getting herself mostly stain free, Clary examines the damage done to her sketchpad. There was good and there was bad. The good is that it could've been a lot worse. The bad? Her favorite drawing was completely ruined.

"God I hate her!" Clary exclaims as she rips the soaked page from the book.

"Yeah, there's nothing like a good coffee soaking to really make you hate a person." Clary almost jumped at the random voice. She spun around to see a guy with curly blonde hair leaning against her car just a few feet away from her. He was wearing sunglasses and really weird clothing.

"Excuse me?" Clary raised her eyebrows.

"I'm just saying, you want someone to hate you, pour coffee on them. Doesn't even have to be hot, although I _have_ found that hot coffee works better." The mystery guy had a completely straight face though Clary could hear a joking tone in his voice.

"Who are you?" Clary asked. She didn't recognize him from school and she knew that she wouldn't forget a face like his.

"You know it hurts me that you have to ask that. Truly I am in pain right now." The guy stood straight and held a hand over his heart. "But I guess I have to cut you some slack after all your entire life _was_ a lie."

"What are-" Clary attempted to ask. She was so confused.

"Anyway, I should probably go." The guy started walking away backward. "See you soon, Clarissa."

And just as soon as he appeared he was gone. Clary took a step after him but was too puzzled to actually attempt to chase after him. A million thoughts were going through Clary's mind as she entered her car. Who was that guy? What did he mean that her entire life was a lie? And how did he know what her name was?

 **So just a short little first chapter of Clary's normal everyday life. Now obviously we all know who the mystery man is but still one question remains. What was he doing there?**


	2. Speeches and Monarchies

**Hope y'all like this chapter!**

Once Clary got home she sat down on the couch. Ever since she saw that... golden boy, she couldn't think about anything else. He was like nobody she had ever met, even from silently observing people in class Clary had never seen anyone like him.

Not only was it how he acted but it was his accent, his clothes, his posture, and not to mention that smug smile. On top of all of that, he knew who she was. That was saying something. Not a lot of people knew Clary, she was invisible and the only reason Kaelie knew her name was because they had four classes with each other that year and one the year before. Even still, Clary was surprised she knew her name.

Clary was pulled from her thoughts when Camille entered the room. She sat down next to Clary seemingly unaware of the blank stare the young girl currently wore.

"I know it's not even noon but I am _so_ tired." Camille threw her head back against the couch and then turned to look at Clary. "What's with you?"

"Huh? Nothing, why do you ask?" Clary scratched behind her ear and Camille narrowed her eyes.

"You're lying, you're doing that thing where you scratch behind your ear. It means you're lying." Camille raised an eyebrow as if to urge to Clary to go on.

"I just... there was this guy after school, I had never seen him before but he somehow knew who I was. It was so weird and he said the strangest thing." Clary paused and turned her entire body to face Camille. "He said that my entire life has been a lie."

Camille's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"

"I have no idea, it was really weird." Clary sat back on the couch and the two girls were silent for a moment.

"You're sure he wasn't somebody from your school?" Camille suddenly said and Clary shrugged.

"Here," She went into the kitchen and grabbed her backpack. After a moment Clary returned with the yearbook from that year and the year before, just in case he was a year older and if he's older than that there's no way he could've known who Clary is anyway. "We can check."

Clary goes through the entire yearbook from her junior year with Camille peering over her shoulder. She scans every single face twice but has no luck in finding the golden boy. Despite the sunglasses, Clary knew that none of these faces were his. Now she was even more freaked out.

"Well, this is aggravating." Clary threw the yearbook to the side and pulled her legs up to her chest.

"Listen, you just need to forget all about this guy and focus on Saturday. Graduation is in three days and you just need to relax until then, okay?" Camille rubbed Clary's leg sympathetically.

"You're right, I'll just touch up my speech and review it a few times." Clary took a deep breath.

"And then tomorrow you and I are going out. We'll have a girls day, it'll be fun." Camille added the last part after Clary gave her an unsure look.

"Fine." Clary gave in and Camille grinned.

"Good, now work on your speech and I'll make you some lunch." Camille stood up and Clary left to work on her graduation speech.

* * *

The next day Clary woke up strangely well rested. She got out of bed and dressed quickly to find that Camille was in the kitchen.

"Good morning, what time is it?" Clary asked with a yawn.

"It's actually only eight, you're up early for once," Camille said surprised.

"Tell me about it." Clary was slightly taken aback by how early it was.

"Well, whenever you're ready to go we can leave. The boys are going to be at the Blackwell's today so we can stay out all day."

"Great, let me grab my wallet and we'll go."

About two hours later the girls ended up at the mall. For the most part, they just wandered around and windowed shopped, though Camille did try to convince Clary to buy a new dress for her graduation. It only took another hour before Clary finally gave in and decided to try on a few dresses. The store they stopped at seemed way too fancy for Clary but Camille managed to convince her that it was fine.

"Camille, I feel weird," Clary called out of the fitting room she was in as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress she had on now was purple and short. The bottom half of it had ruffles and the top half was glittery.

"Come out, let me see," Camille replied and reluctantly Clary opened the door. Camille took one look and had to hold back from laughing.

"See I told you this was a bad idea," Clary said but she could hardly contain her own laughter.

"No, no it's just that particular dress that's bad. Try on one of the others." Clary rolled her eyes and closed the door to try on the second dress.

This one was green. Bright green. It was a high-low with a dark green floral design all across it. Clary cocked her head as she looked at herself in the mirror and reached behind her to unlock the door. Camille entered and raised her eyebrows at the dress.

"See now this one isn't all that-"

"I look like Christmas threw up." Clary cut off Camille as she held her bright red hair against the green of the dress.

"Only slightly," Camille said and Clary glared at her.

"One more dress and then we leave," Clary said and Camille left but not before Clary saw her mocking smile.

The third dress was golden tulle with a satin belt tied around it. It seemed so simple and yet it was so beautiful. Clary opened the door for the last time and Caille stepped in.

"Okay, this one I'll admit I like," Clary said and Camille smiled.

"Thank god, I was starting to get weird looks from the sales lady for how long I'd been sitting there." Clary rolled her eyes as Camille laughed.

Soon they were buying the dress and Clary's gaze drifted to the windows that led beyond the store. People were milling about the mall, going in and out of stores. Then something caught Clary's attention. Golden hair.

Clary hardly had time to react when the people blocking her view moved and Clary saw who the hair was attached to. It was him, it was the golden boy and this time he wasn't wearing sunglasses.

The golden boy caught Clary's eye and he smirked. He watched Clary for another moment before disappearing into the crowd. Clary raced out of the store and looked around for where he went. Once again he disappeared without a trace. Clary stood there for another moment before Camille appeared at her side.

"Clary? What's wrong? Why did you just bolt?" Camille was holding the bag with the dress.

"He was there. He was right there and then he was just gone. Where did he go?" Clary stuttered and continued looking around.

"Who, sweetie?"

Clary turned to Camille aggravated. "The boy from yesterday, he was just standing here. I don't get it..."

"Clary, I think that we better go home." Camille put a hand on Clary's shoulder but she shook it off.

"No, you don't get it. He was watching me, I think he's following me. I swear to god I'm telling the truth."

"I believe you," Camille said unconvincingly. "Don't worry, I believe you. Why don't we go out for some brunch?"

"Sure," Clary said trying to act happy. It was hard though considering how obvious it was that Camille didn't believe her. But it didn't matter because Clary saw him, that was what mattered.

* * *

Saturday approached rather quickly and Clary was hardly prepared. Her speech was great, her fear of public speaking... not so much. She sat in her room in the dress that Camille had bought for her just the other day and her hair was in a heap on her head.

"Clarissa, you ready to go?" Camille popped into her room and all Clary replied with was a nod.

They went out to Camille's car where Clary found that Jonathon and Sebastian were already waiting. Clary got into the passenger seat and turned around to face the nine-year-old boys.

"Well don't you guys look adorable in your little suits." Clary teased and they both scowled.

"I know where you sleep." Jonathon threatened and Clary had to fight back a laugh. She held up her hands defensively and turned back around in her seat as the car drove off.

After getting to the school Clary immediately went off to find her seat. It didn't take too long for the ceremony to start but it did take forever when all the names were being read. Clary was nervous when her name was called but it seemed like it was all over in a split second. Then came the speech.

Clary clambered up to the podium and looked out at her fellow classmates. These were people she barely knew and yet she recognized almost every single one of them. She wondered how many actually recognized her. Suddenly as she looked out at this sea of people Clary hated her speech. It was written about hope and the future, but that's not the feeling she was getting right now. She felt fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and oddly enough over each of those feelings one denied all of them. Because Clary also felt a sort of bravery.

Clary looked back down at her speech one last time before crumbling it up in her hand. Today wasn't about hope, it was about the unknown.

"All my life I've been moved around." Clary decided to wing it. "I've gone from school to school and I'm sure you can all imagine what that does to your social life. I've always had a suitcase packed, just in preparation for the next time I have to move. But now that's over and honestly, I don't know what comes next. Everybody has been told that you can never be prepared for life after school, not until you experience it for yourself. But as I look out at all of you I feel like I already know what to expect. It'll be hard, life always is. But now, now-" Clary paused as she tried to think of what to say next. But before she could speak again the doors to the auditorium suddenly swung open and a large group of people burst in. To Clary's surprise, the golden boy was among them.

"Princess Clarissa Adelle Fairchild of Idris." The man in front of the entire group spoke loudly. Everybody had been staring at the group that walked in but now all eyes were on Clary. She was the only person at that school with the name Clarissa.

"Excuse me, who are you?" The principle stepped in front of the man who spoke.

"I am the adviser to the king and queen of our humble country. My name is Hodge Starkweather." The man answered politely. "We have come for the princess." Hodge motioned to Clary and her stomach dropped. This can't be real.

"Princess? I'm sorry, I don't understand." The principle crossed his arms.

"You Americans never seem to understand anything." The golden boy rolled his eyes and Hodge glared at him.

"Jace, manners," Hodge said and the golden boy waved his arms in the air mockingly. "Please excuse the young noble, he doesn't know the definition of polite. But I have simple proof of the princess' lineage. Her birth certificate I think should suffice." One of the men in the group stepped forward and held up a piece of paper. Clary couldn't see very well from where she stood but the reaction from the principle was enough for her to know it was real.

"I see, my apologies for any indiscretion, your highness." The principle bowed slightly.

"Please, I'm not royalty. I told you, I'm the advisor. The king and queen are waiting by the jet, I didn't think it smart for them to come." Hodge said simply.

"Of course," The principle said politely.

"Now if you don't mind we're going to take our young princess and let you all continue on with your lovely ceremony here." Hodge smiled and one of the men started walking up towards Clary with the golden boy. The other guy had pitch black hair and vividly blue eyes and looked to be about Clary's age.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Clary suddenly found her words when the two boys had made it halfway up to the podium. "What if I don't want to go to this Idris place?"

Jace and the other boy paused for a moment and looked back at Hodge unsure of what to do. Hodge seemed to be taken aback himself.

"Well, I don't know. We just sort of figured that you would want to meet your parents." Hodge scratched the back of his neck.

"Plus, who's going to give up the chance to be royalty?" Jace spoke with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a family, and I don't want to leave Camille." Clary took a step back from the podium even though Jace and the other had yet to take another step forward.

Clary saw Camille stand up in the crowd and suddenly she was walking down the aisle. She strolled up to Hodge with Jonathon and Sebastian both at her side.

"Clary, don't give up this opportunity because of me. You would have been going off to college anyway." Camille called out to Clary from across the room. "Clary, you're royalty. Embrace it." The look on Camille's face made Clary feel hope. All of a sudden she couldn't wait to meet her real parents, to see her homeland.

Clary took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll go."

Hodge smiled widely. "You have made a very wise choice, my princess."

 **Hope you like the story so far. Please comment!**


	3. Jerks and Kings

**Just saying I love to get reviews, good and bad, so don't be shy to comment. Oh and y'all should check out my other story too... if you want, I mean like you don't have to or anything, just putting that out there. It's called Yesterday's Tomorrow. ANYWAY... on with the story.**

Clary was silent in the limo. Among her sat Jace and the boy with the black hair. Hodge and the rest of the royal party were going to be in cars flanking the limo which hardly made Clary feel very safe. Especially when they decided to stick the golden boy and the raven in the limo with her, Clary would've been just fine on her own.

The ride seemed to stretch on forever and the silence seemed to be raising in awkwardness. Clary decided it was better to be social than to let this go on.

"Who are you guys anyway?" Clary said. The raven's head whipped up from where he had been looking out the window but Jace just slowly glanced up from whatever he was doing on his phone.

"I'm Alec, that's Jace. We're both nobility but we're supposed to look over you while you're settling in, my princess." The raven answered and Jace sighed loudly causing Clary to glare at him.

"Okay, but he's been watching me for days." Clary looked back at Alec who seemed just as peeved off at Jace as she did.

"Yeah, there's been someone from Idris looking over you since you were brought to America. Just recently that job was passed on to Jace. Though he failed his second day on the job when he spoke to you." Alec glared at Jace who seemed to know Alec was looking at him despite staring down at his phone.

"It can get pretty boring just watching people. It's not like the princess had a very exciting life after all." Jace stretched out in his seat and Alec rolled his eyes.

"Well not everybody can be perfect with a million friends and a great family, now can they?" Clary said back and Jace looked up at her for a moment.

"Don't go blaming me for that, blame the war." Alec kicked Jace's leg the second he spoke and Jace closed his eyes in realization. "You weren't supposed to know about the war."

"What war?" Clary turned to Alec for more answers, he seemed to be the nice one here.

Alec just sighed. "We're not supposed to tell you about it, I'm sorry. In time you should ask your parents."

"You mean the queen and king?"

"No, a peasant family, and that's why we're bringing you all the way back home in a limo with armed guards and have been calling you princess." Jace looked up and shook his head in disbelief before staring back at his phone.

Alec simply pursed his lips. "You get used to him after a while."

"Seems hard to believe anyone would want to hang around him long enough to be able to get used to him," Clary said and Jace gave no visible reaction.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what great looks and a few charming words can do." Alec ran his fingers through his hair. "Plus Jace is from one of the top noble families. The Herondales are extremely prestigious and best friends with their highnesses. So little warning, you'll be seeing a lot of Jace as the princess."

Once again Jace gave no visible reaction but Clary groaned. She was about to say something back when the limo suddenly came to a halt. As if on cue Jace turned off his phone and stashed it in his pocket the moment the door opened. Jace hopped out of the car and Alec waited for Clary to get out next. As she did Jace took her and to help her down. He immediately let go once she was on the ground and stood beside her as Alec closed the door and did the same.

"What are we-" Clary started to say but Jace shushed her.

"Get ready to meet your parents," Alec said under his breath just as a woman and a man appeared in front of them.

Clary gasped when she saw the woman. She had red hair just like Clary's except hers was a little bit darker. Clary was astonished by how much she looked like the woman. She had imagined what her mother might look like any times but never had she pictured them so similar.

The man, on the other hand, didn't look much like Clary. He had vividly blonde hair and sharp features. He stood hand in hand with his wife and Clary noticed they were both wearing crowns.

 _Of course, they're wearing crowns_ , Clary thought, _they're royalty._

The shock of meeting her parents was so great that Clary almost failed to notice the paparazzi surrounding them. Not only that but there were normal civilians too. Just random people that heard there would be a king and queen in town and decided to show up. Clary began to feel a little overwhelmed. She hadn't even formally met her parents yet and she was flocked by people who she didn't even know. In fact, she didn't even know her parents. They were complete strangers to her.

And that's when the reality of everything hit her.

Clary began to feel strangely claustrophobic. Everything was happening so fast. And why was the world spinning? Clary blinked a few times before everything came into focus once more. And she ran.

She didn't know where she was going but she just knew she had to get out of there. So she ran towards to line of jets. Running turned out to be a bad idea though because Clary apparently forgot she was still wearing a dress and heels from her graduation. She only managed to reach the tire of the second row of jets before someone grabbed her arm and stopped her. The hands spun Clary around and held on to both of her forearms.

"What are doing?" Jace raised an eyebrow and looked down at Clary. He was so much taller than her that even in the heels he had to crouch down to look her in the eye.

"I can't do it. I can't do any of this. I'm not royalty. I- I don't have a family or a last name. What's Fairchild? Really, what kind of name is that? I just- I'm not cut out for this. I'm from New York, not Idris. I don't know how to act proper and I haven't even been prepared to meet my parents-"

"Clary," Jace spoke so sternly and yet so soft that Clary stopped talking. She also noticed that he was the only person to not call her princess. "It's going to be okay. Alec and I will be there to help you. Not only that but Alec's younger sister, Isabelle, will be there. Along with thousands and thousands of people who adored you when you were one and will adore you now."

Clary looked past him to the crowd of people and started to freak out again. "I can't, Jace. I-"

"You can and you will. You must." When he spoke he wasn't being pushy, despite the actual words that Jace was saying it still felt like Clary had a choice. Is this what Alec had meant earlier when he talked about Jace getting by with a few charming words?

Clary nodded her head reluctantly. "Okay, okay."

"You good now?" Jace asked softly and let go of one of her arms though he kept a semi tight grip on the other one.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Clary couldn't stop her head from nodding.

"Alright, I'm going to take you straight on the jet to see your parents. None of that paparazzi business. Alec and I will be on the plane too so if you need anything you can find us." Clary slowed her nods to a final stop and looked up at Jace with worried eyes. How is it that he was a complete ass ten minutes ago?

Jace led Clary on to the jet but once she was settled in he left behind a curtained area. The jet was a lot bigger than Clary had initially imagined and she was assuming that there was even more room behind the curtain.

After just a minute or so the queen and king entered the jet. Clary stood up abruptly and everything seemed to freeze as the three just stared at each other. Another minute passed before they all sat down and soon the jet was taking off. Clary looked at her alleged mother and father as she felt the jet move, she had no idea what one was supposed to say when meeting their parents for the first time.

"It's so good to finally see you and meet you after all these years." The queen suddenly spoke. "You're so beautiful."

"I look just like you," Clary said softly and a sad smile seemed to grow on the queen's face. "What... am I supposed to call you?" Clary asked after another moment of silence.

"Mother and father, if you want." The queen answered.

"Or I am King Valentine and your mother is Queen Jocelyn." The King spoke for the first time.

"Valentine and Jocelyn..." Clary said quietly to herself. She thought of Camille in that moment and her heart throbbed. Hopefully, she would be able to visit at some point in the future.

"I think you'll like Idris." Jocelyn said softly. "The capital, Alicante, is often called the City of Glass by tourists. It's a beautiful place, truly and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased."

Clary chuckled a little and looked out the window. Idris may be gorgeous, it could be the most beautiful place on earth, but Clary knew that it would never be New York.

 **Wow, chapter three and not even all the main characters have been introduced yet. That's what we call the exposition folks. Hope y'all like it so far and I promise (actually I don't promise, don't hold me to that) that the story will get more interesting as it goes on.**


	4. Rats and Nobility

**I know that I've been updating a lot in less than 24 hours but it's summer and I'm bored right now. Oh and happy father's day!**

When the jet landed Clary pressed her face to the glass of the window. The land beyond was gorgeous. There was a castle surrounded by a town full of people. Clary could tell why the place was often called the City of Glass. The castle glittered in the sunlight as though it were made of glass.

Clary followed after the king and queen when getting off the plane. The moment she stepped foot on the ground there was a thud behind her and Clary turned around to see Jace and Alec. Only Alec was on the ground and glaring at a very smug Jace. Hodge also appeared by their side and began to converse with the king. Clary couldn't care enough to try and listen in to their conversation.

Instead, she looked around, amazed by this place. Maybe Idris wouldn't be too bad after all. It only took a minute before the view of the city Alicante was blocked by a large group of people. Clary took a step back as people began to crowd around them. Before she could take another step back though she felt Jace's hand press in the small of her back stopping her.

Suddenly there was a group of bodyguards that began pushing the people back to allow Clary and her parents through. Strangely enough, everybody willingly stepped back to make way. Clary thought that strange considering New Yorkers wouldn't have given up so easily.

Clary smiled at the thought of crowds of fans surrounding their favorite actor or singer. She had lived in a few different states but mostly ended up in New York. Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, Boston... Clary had never really thought about it but she had mainly been moved from big city to another big city. Clary chuckled at the thought of how different the people of each of those cities would react to something like this.

"What's so funny?" Jace whispered startling Clary. At some point, he had taken his hand off her back and now stood to her right while Alec stood to her left.

"Nothing," Clary said still with a smile.

Jace simply raised an eyebrow but didn't question further. The rest of the walk up to the palace was silent. Well if you don't count the yelling of the citizens all around them, then yeah, it was silent.

A lot of the people were calling out to Clary. It still seemed weird to her that all of these people knew her name, Clary wasn't used to being the center of attention. In fact, she wasn't used to being acknowledged at all so this whole ordeal was completely foreign to her.

Soon, though, Clary was inside the castle and away from all the unnerving attention. The inside of the castle was even more amazing than the outside. Everything seemed to be out of a fairytale here. In fact, if Clary didn't feel the heart aching pain of leaving Camille she would've thought this whole thing was a dream.

Clary started walking forward but she knew that the others didn't move. She could still feel everybody's eyes on her even if there were significantly fewer people.

The peaceful atmosphere was suddenly ruined though when there was a large crash and few yelps. A boy around Clary's age appeared coming out of a door. He was walking backward and seemed to be trying to apologize for something.

"Sorry, my bad, sorry." There was a yell from inside the room and the boy shut the door as quickly as possible. He had wide eyes as he leaned against the closed door. The boy was tall with brown hair and glasses. It took him a moment before he saw Clary but when he did he basically flipped out. "Your highnesses! That was just... little accident, you know. Nothing big, it- it's all good." The boy stammered and Clary looked back over her shoulder to see her mother shaking her head with a smile.

"It's okay, dear. I'm just glad you're here now so you can meet Clarissa." The queen walked forward to stand by Clary's side and the boy walked over. "Valentine and I have some things to work out so we must leave her in your capable hands." This time the queen looked back at Jace and Alec.

"We'll see you soon, darling. I'm sorry we can't spend time with you now but we have urgent business." Valentine said to Clary.

"It's okay, I understand." Clary offered a small smile and Jocelyn put her hand on Clary's cheek for a moment before leaving with the king.

Alec walked over to where Clary stood with the new guy and Jace reluctantly followed.

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you, princess." The guy put out his hand and Clary shook it. She smiled at his nervousness.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too... Who are you?" Clary said after releasing his hand.

"Oh, of course, you don't know who I am, sorry." The guy said but still didn't say his name.

Jace sighed and rolled his eyes. "By the Angel. Clary this is rat-face, rat-face meet the princess."

Clary raised her eyebrows at Jace and then at the boy. "Rat-face?"

"My name is not rat-face." The boy glared at Jace for a moment. "I'm Simon, I'm not noble like these two but my family has worked at the castle for ages. I will be your royal tutor." Simon said the last part with a smile.

"Why do I need a royal tutor?" Clary asked slightly offended that they thought she might not be smart.

"Just because you didn't grow up here so you don't know much about Idris. Don't necessarily think of me as a tutor, think of me as a friend." Simon said and Jace snorted.

"Rat-face as a friend. Now there's a thought." Simon glared at Jace again.

"Anyway..." Alec spoke up before anyone else could continue. "I'm going to find Isabelle, I'll be right back."

"Oh, I'll help you look for her," Jace said and started walking alongside Alec causing Alec to stop.

"It's really just a one-man job," Alec said and Jace shrugged.

"Great, let's go." Jace continued walking and Alec looked back with disbelief before continuing too.

"So..." Clary said after they were gone. "Rat-face, huh?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "Don't even get me started. I've known Jace all my life and there was this one time when we had an infestation of rats, a bunch started crawling on me and I started crying because I mean I was five, who wouldn't cry? Anyway, from that moment on Jace has called me rat-face."

Clary chuckled. "Yeah, he doesn't really seem like the nicest guy. Alec's pretty cool though."

Simon raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? Alec was nice? That doesn't sound right."

"What is he not usually a nice person?" Clary was a little shocked, he seemed great.

"Not necessarily, though I do like him better than Jace. But I guess it makes sense he was kind to you. That's sort of his job and he takes his job very seriously." Simon said.

"Wow, is anyone here nice?"

"Yes, actually. Idris is full of great people. It's just something about those two noble families." Simon laughed a little.

"Great, so is this Isabelle going to be a bitch too?" Clary asked and Simon smiled.

"No, Isabelle is actually a really great person. She has a way of keeping her brother and Jace... let's just say she knows how to put them in their place."

That got Clary curious. It didn't seem like Jace would listen to anyone. "Are her and Jace..." Clary didn't have to finish the sentence for Simon to know what she meant. His eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.

"No, dear Angel no. They may come from two different families but Jace is like another brother to Isabelle." Simon said sternly as if the idea of Isabelle and Jace together was completely insane.

Clary was about to respond when there was a sudden loud squeal. Both Clary and Simon turned to the sound to see a very tall girl with long black hair enter the room. Her eyes were vividly blue and as Jace and Alec entered behind her Clary could perfectly see the resemblance between the siblings.

"It is so great to finally meet you, my princess." The girl who Clary could only assume was Isabelle embraced her in a tight hug.

"Princess Clarissa meet Izzy," Simon said with a small laugh.

"It's nice to meet you too Isabelle." The girl released Clary and had a large smile on her face.

"It's so nice to finally have another girl around. You would not believe what I have to put up with these two." Isabelle rolled her eyes as she motioned back to the boys. "You're going to love Idris and don't worry, I will teach you exactly how to act as a princess."

Clary's eyes widened from the enthusiasm coming from Isabelle. "Jeez, suddenly I feel like Mia from _The Princess Diaries_ ," Clary said under her breath.

"Who from the what?" Simon asked and Clary looked around to realize that nobody here knew what she was talking about.

"It's a movie... But nevermind that..." Clary chuckled awkwardly and then cleared her throat. "Can I ask a favor from you guys?" All four of them nodded so Clary continued. "Could you maybe not call me princess? It just feels... weird."

Simon, Isabelle, and Alec all agreed to what Clary asked but Jace just grinned. He already didn't call her princess but now that she had formally asked not to be she had a feeling that might change.

"Alright well thank you, boys, for looking after Clary before I got here but I can take over now." Isabelle suddenly turned to three boys with an almost evil grin.

Simon opened his mouth to protest but then closed it. Alec and Jace simply shrugged to each other. Before Clary could walk away though Jace called her name stopping her.

"So I know you're the princess and all but," He reached up and grabbed the one clip holding Clary's hair in place and removed it. "Trust me, it looks better down."

With that, Jace turned and half jogged to catch up with Alec. Clary returned to Isabelle and looked around to see that no one had noticed what Jace just did.

Every moment in this country with these people Clary became curiouser and curiouser.

 **When Jace let down Clary's hair before Magnus' party in the books I DIED. Literally, my friends had to resurrect me. But I hope y'all liked this chapter!**


	5. Cities and Castles

**So, I'm almost done with this chapter and then my computer freezes and I lose half of everything... I'm not bitter, not at all.**

Isabelle led Clary all around the castle. She explained in excruciating detail everything that Clary would have to do, so much so that Clary ended up forgetting basically all of it. Still, she ended up learning a lot in the few hours she spent with Izzy.

Eventually, they ended up back in the main foyer. Clary was exhausted from all the walking she practically collapsed into one of the chairs. Isabelle looked curiously down at the red head as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Izzy asked with a smile.

"I'm not used to this much movement." Clary breathed out and Isabelle laughed.

"You Americans are so lazy." She shook her head and ignored Clary's glare. "But don't worry, you won't have to move much with what we're about to do next." Izzy looked giddy causing Clary to sit up curiously.

"What are we going to do next?" She asked slowly.

"Royal makeover!" At that Clary's eyes widened. She got up from the chair and attempted to protest as Isabelle continued talking. "I'm so happy that I finally have someone to dress up. I'm going to get you a dress fit for a princess, five-inch heels, your hair will look gorgeous, and I have just the eyeshadow to really make your eyes pop."

"No, no, no," Clary said quickly. "I, umm, I don't think so."

Isabelle looked at Clary sadly. "Why not? It'll be so much fun and it'll really give us time to bond." She smiled widely but Clary just continued to shake her head.

"I don't do fancy and heels and makeup." Isabelle raised an eyebrow at Clary's current outfit. "Okay this was because I was forced to, it was a one-time thing and if you hadn't noticed my heels are like one inch and I'm not wearing any makeup.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Of course, once we get a princess she doesn't want to _look_ like a princess. It's like I'm still surrounded by boys." Isabelle sighed dramatically and looked down at the floor for a while before giving Clary puppy dog eyes. Clary took a deep breath before giving in.

"Fine," Isabelle started to squeal but Clary grabbed her arm to stop her celebration. "But just this once."

Izzy's smile didn't waver as she shrugged her shoulders. "You say that now, but just you wait."

Clary narrowed her eyes as Isabelle grabbed her arm and ran up the stairs. She led her through a few hallways before stopping at a door she hadn't shown Clary on their previous tour. Isabelle swung open the door to reveal a glorious bedroom. The walls were red and the carpet beige. A bed sat in the middle of the farthest wall with a royal purple comforter and pillows covering half of it. All across the room were chairs, dressers, tables, a desk. And on one side was a closet that Clary could probably guess the size of.

"May I present; your room." Isabelle motioned around to the room with both her arms as Clary stepped forward to admire it more. "The queen and king constantly changed the design of this place as the years went on. They never knew when they might have been able to bring you home so they just updated the room based on your age."

Clary thought of what Jace had said earlier about blaming the war for her not living in Idris. She wanted to ask Isabelle more about it but figured it might be best to just ask her parents.

"This place is amazing," Clary said spinning around to take it all in.

"Wait till you see the bathroom." Isabelle raced over to a door and pushed it open. Inside was a humongous bathroom. The countertops were marble and so was the floor. But the best part was the bathtub. It was the size of a small hot tub and after the day Clary had all she wanted to do now was relax in it.

When Izzy saw Clary admiring the place her grin grew and she exited the room motioning for Clary to follow. "You haven't even seen the best part yet." She opened up the closet door to reveal something bigger than what Clary had imagined. The closet was probably larger than Clary's room back in New York. The clothing

The closet was probably larger than Clary's room back in New York. The clothing looked expensive and like stuff that Clary would never wear in a million years. There was even a wall of shoes. As in one entire wall was covered in over a hundred pairs of shoes. Clary's mouth gaped and Isabelle stood by the door looking strangely proud.

"Your room is my favorite place in the entire castle simply for this reason," Isabelle said as she admired a dress.

"What about your own room? I'm sure you probably have a closet as large as this, or at least close." Clary sat down on a padded bench in the middle of the closet and Isabelle joined her.

"Oh, I do. The Lightwood manor is just outside of Alicante in the countryside. It's beautiful and I love my room, but for... reasons, most of the nobility hasn't been able to live in their own manors for a very long time." Isabelle seemed to be trying to be careful about something.

"Because of the war?" Clary decided that she needed to know, she didn't care anymore.

"How did you- Jace." Isabelle rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, but we're not supposed to tell you about it. You'll have to ask your parents."

"You sound just like your brother." Clary joked.

"Ah yes, the infamous Alexander," Isabelle said.

"I would've thought Jace would be the infamous one." After all being infamous meant one was known for bad deeds.

"Oh he is, he definitely is. But Alec is too, it's just not as obvious with my brother." Isabelle said. "You see, Alec is the eldest child and he's already 20-years-old meaning that he should start looking for a wife so one day he can take over the Lightwood land and continue our family name. The only problem is that he's never shown the slightest interest in marrying nor in taking over for our father. So really I guess he's just infamous in our family."

Isabelle stood up with a sigh and walked over to the shoe wall. She began looking at them all, seemingly deep in thought.

"Have you ever thought," Clary began. "That maybe it's just _who_ your parents want Alec to marry."

"What do you mean?" Isabelle asked picking up a black heel.

"Well, I don't know and I don't want to assume anything but from the time I've spent with him he just seems... well I think he might be..." Isabelle wasn't looking at Clary as she spoke so Clary decided to just be straightforward. "Gay."

Izzy dropped the shoe she was holding and banged her head on the wall when she bent over to pick it up. She set the shoe down carefully and turned to Clary.

"No, of course, Alec isn't... I mean he's... it's just that... fuck, who told you?" Clary raised her eyebrows when Isabelle sat back down beside her and gave in.

"Wait really? That was just a guess, I didn't actually know if he was." Clary was a little proud of herself for figuring that out so quickly until she looked at Isabelle's serious expression.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You can't tell anyone, nowadays most people might be okay with it but our parents totally aren't." Isabelle didn't waver as she looked Clary in the eye.

"Of course, I'll keep it to myself," Clary promised and Isabelle relaxed a little.

"Thank you," She smiled. "Now, let's get started on your makeover."

* * *

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Isabelle squealed.

Clary slowly did as instructed. In front of her was a large mirror and reflecting off that mirror was the image of a girl that Clary did not recognize. She looked down at the dress Izzy had chosen and held back from rolling her eyes.

"You know nowadays not all princesses dress up. Just look at Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, she's married to Prince William and she doesn't _always_ dress up." Clary poked at her own face.

"Oh shush, you need to look pretty if you're going to pull off being a princess," Izzy argued.

Clary shook her head and returned her gaze to the mirror. She was wearing dark red lipstick, pink eyeshadow, and a bunch of other stuff Clary didn't even know. She had an up-down hairdo and a very pink dress on.

"Could you at least take some of this stuff off, I look weird." Clary turned to Isabelle who simply sighed and grabbed a makeup remover wipe. She wiped in certain spots on Clary's face and then stood back and narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Eh, I guess that'll do." Isabelle threw the wipe in a garbage can and Clary looked back at the mirror. Her lips had been stained by the lipstick but were now much lighter and the rest of her face didn't look as... fake anymore.

"Thank you, now I have one more request." Clary smiled up at Isabelle. "Can I please wear pants?"

Isabelle didn't really react. She stared at Clary for a moment longer before taking a deep breath.

"You aggravate me, Clarissa, so very much." Izzy calmly walked over to the closet door and then closed it. "Just this once _please_ wear the dress," Isabelle begged and Clary couldn't say no.

"Fine, just this once I'll keep on the dress." A smile spread on Izzy's face.

"Good, and it's not like there's any ugly clothing in there anyway so I'm happy." Isabelle walked back over to Clary and took her hands in her own. "Now time to show you off to your country."

"Oh no..." Clary groaned as Isabelle pulled her to her feet. "I don't think I'm ready for that."

"You'll be fine. We'll get an escort and have fun." Izzy gave her a hopeful smile.

"Actually I'd prefer it if there was no escort, that freaks me out even more." Isabelle raised an eyebrow but didn't question her new friend.

"Okay... I'll just get Alec and Jace to go with us, just in case. Because you're actually not allowed outside without some sort of guard." Izzy led Clary outside her room before she had any time to protest.

* * *

The sun had set a few hours before they got outside and yet the streets were still full of people. It amazed Clary how well she could see the stars in the town. In New York there was so much light pollution you could hardly see anything. Here it seemed to be normal to have the sky lit up like it itself were a city.

Clary walked alongside Isabelle as they trailed through the town. Jace and Alec followed closely behind, caught up in their own conversation. Izzy was talking to Clary but she was too wrapped up in everything going on to pay attention.

There were dozens of shops along the road. The street lights illuminated them even if they were already closed. These were all the types of shops that might be in downtown New York, Chicago, San Fransisco, or anywhere really. It all seemed surreal and yet so... real.

It was then that Clary noticed all the people staring at her. Most people went about their business after Clary passed by them, but still. She looked around at all of the people. These were the people that she would have to rule somebody.

Clary was letting this fact sink in when suddenly someone grabbed both her arms and tugged her backward.

"Clary!" Jace yelled getting her attention. He let go of her wrists after a moment. Clary looked forward to realize she was one step away from having walked straight into a pole.

"Oops." Clary chuckled nervously. Jace raised an eyebrow but didn't seem to care for a second longer as him and Alec continued their conversation. Isabelle looped her arm through Clary's and the two continued walking.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked with a mocking smile.

"Yeah, I guess I was just distracted." Clary scratched the back of her neck.

"What about? And before you answer," Isabelle stopped them and turned to face Clary. "We probably would have been best friends if you weren't sent to America, so why don't we just start as best friends. You can tell me anything." Izzy gave Clary a confident smile.

"I would've told you anyway, it's really no big deal." Clary shrugged. "It's just, I don't know how I'm going to handle this country, this city, these people. I don't know how I'm going to handle any of this."

Clary began to wave her arms around but just as she motioned to the castle behind them her hand was caught. Clary and Isabelle looked behind them to see that Clary had been a half inch away from smacking Jace in the face. The noble lowered her arm with a sigh.

"Seriously, princess. Focus." Jace let Clary's arms drop and Clary had to hold back from laughing. Despite how embarrassing that was, it was also hilarious.

"Sorry," Clary grinned, "again."

Isabelle turned back to Clary and tugged on her elbow so the two were walking again.

"You're right, you'll be needing as much help as possible to be the princess," Isabelle said bluntly.

"Hey!" Clary exclaimed and Izzy put her hands up.

"Just telling you the truth. I mean you're worse than Simon."

"What does that mean?"

Isabelle thought for a moment. "Well, Simon is clumsy. Very clumsy. But never has he almost ran into a pull and slapped someone in under twenty minutes. In the same day? Sure. But never so close together."

Clary laughed. "Are you insulting your princess?"

"Of course not," Isabelle smiled back. "Simon is a prestigious fellow and any would be lucky to be compared to him." Clary could see on Izzy's face that it was taking everything she had not to burst out laughing. But just as it seemed like she was going to break her eyes went wide and she grinned from ear to ear.

"What?" Clary asked trying to see whatever it was Izzy was looking at.

"Is that? It is!" Isabelle suddenly took off running. "Magnus! Magnus Bane!"

A man about a block away suddenly turned around. His face lit up just as Izzy's had and he met her halfway. Clary turned to Jace and Alec for clarification.

"Magnus Bane owns a shop in town. He and Isabelle have known each other basically all their lives." Alec answered the unspoken question.

"No one has seen him in months though." Jace said under his breath, his eyes full of suspicion. "C'mon princess." He took a step forward to follow after Izzy but when Clary didn't move he stopped.

"Stop calling me princess, _golden-boy_." Clary glared at Jace, unwilling to give up. Jace stood where he was for a minute and just as Clary thought he was going to cave in he took three slow steps up to Clary and looked directly down at her.

"You're not going to win this. Call me what you will, but I won't back down. _Princess._ " His smirk was unwavering and Clary felt a shiver go through her spine as he looked into her eyes.

Clary felt her face go hot and prayed it was dark enough he couldn't see. Jace raised a taunting eyebrow before finally turning away from Clary. He stalked away towards Isabelle and Magnus while Alec waited patiently for Clary.

"I do not know what to say after that," Alec spoke after a moment and Clary turned to him with a smile.

"Me neither, I say we go meet Magnus. At least that can't possibly be awkward." Clary suggested and Alec laughed.

"Oh... you just don't know Magnus yet. But yeah, let's go." Clary looked at Alec curiously even as he pushed her towards the group, a knowing grin on his face.

When they reached the other three Isabelle immediately stopped their conversation.

"Eek! Magnus this is her. This is our princess. Clarissa Adelle Fairchild." Izzy took Clary by the shoulders and presented her in front of Magnus as if she were a proud parent.

Magnus paused and studied the girl for a moment. He looked her up and down and even had Isabelle spin her around once. Magnus put a finger to his mouth in thought before his eyes landed on Alec and he grinned.

"Oh hello Alexander, I didn't notice you there," Magnus spoke in such a casual flirting way that Clary raised her eyebrows. Alec looked almost uncomfortable. Almost meaning he seemed to be trying to act uncomfortable.

"Magnus." Alec simply nodded his head in acknowledgment. Clary wondered what was going on there but before she could question anything further Magnus finally spoke to her. Or... about her.

"She is much shorter than I imagined. Both the king and queen are much taller than her. I mean what are you? 5'1?"

"5'2" Clary responded shortly.

Magnus shrugged. "That's alright, biscuit. You're just cute enough to pull off being so short."

Clary's eyes shot up at the compliment. Magnus began turning Clary again slowly and when she was face to face with Isabelle she mouthed _Biscuit?_ Izzy shrugged in response though she appeared to be having fun with whatever Magnus was doing to Clary.

"Magnus, what on earth are you doing?" Jace asked. Clary was thankful that someone did because she didn't want to have to.

"Studying her," Magnus replied simply. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Jace shrugged. "Not at all, I was just curious."

"Great, now..." Magnus looked Clary up and down once more. "Isabelle I must applaud you with this dress, it suits her wonderfully."

"Thank you, Magnus, I try." Isabelle smiled with content.

"But there's something missing..." Magnus began to grin and Izzy's face fell with realization.

"No... Magnus don't. Don't-" Isabelle reached out to stop him.

"Too late." Magnus jumped away from Izzy and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a pouch and opened it above Clary's head.

From the pouch fell glitter. And Glitter. And just when Clary thought it couldn't hold anything else, some more glitter fell. Magnus shook the pouch as Clary cringed under it, dreading opening her eyes.

After what seemed like ages Clary felt Isabelle wipe away at her eyes. She opened them to see a very apologetic Izzy.

"I should've known. He does that to everybody I introduce to him." Isabelle continued to wipe at Clary's face for her.

"He just carry's around bags of glitter in case he meets someone knew?" Clary asked jokingly.

"Of course," Magnus replied completely serious. "Don't you?" When Clary looked up at him she couldn't help but smile. She wanted to be mad but there was something about this place. Ever since Clary had arrived in Idris she hadn't really been mad at anyone. Everybody here was just too... nice. Now _that_ made her a little mad.

"Right, well I think it's getting pretty late and I've had a long day. So if we could just go back to the castle..." Clary took a step back to try and initiate the actual returning. All she wanted to do at this point was shower and sleep.

"Fair enough, I'll see you tomorrow Magnus." Isabelle gave the man a hug.

"Goodbye, my angel," Magnus said returning the hug. "Good night Alexander... Jace." Magnus smiled to Alec before turning to Jace with a straight face. "And good luck biscuit," Magnus patted Clary on the face. "You're going to need it."

 **Even though I know like fifty percent of people don't read these bottom and top paragraphs I hope y'all liked the chapter. I'll update as soon as I can and please review. That's all!**


	6. Hoodies and Crests

The sun was blinding. Clary tugged her covers further over her head and snuggled deeper into her pillows. That's when she remembered everything from the day before.

Clary jolted up in her bed but kept her comforter over her face. She didn't want to open her eyes and realize it was all a dream. Clary stayed in this position until there was a knock on her door causing her to jump and drop the blanket.

"Princess Clarissa, your parents would like to know if you will be joining them for breakfast or if you wish to be served in bed?" A maid stood half in and half out of the doorway. Clary's eyes widened as she looked around at her room, a smile slowly growing on her face.

"Sure, I'll be down there in a moment." Clary finally replied after taking in everything. The maid curtsied slightly and then hurried out of the room closing the door behind her.

Once she was gone Clary jumped out of the bed. She encircled her room before stopping at a large window. The sun was fully over the horizon but was still fairly low in the sky. People were already flooding the streets outside.

In fact, from where she was Clary could see Jace. He was talking to a man and a woman and looked almost scared of them. Clary cocked her head. It wasn't fear she was seeing but respect, maybe? She wondered if those people were his parents, they certainly looked enough like him.

Clary watched for another moment when the man and woman left and Jace turned to the castle. Just as she was about to leave the window she saw Simon. He came up to Jace who visibly sighed even from this distance. The two talked while still heading towards the castle. Once they were out of sight Clary realized she still needed to get dressed.

She opened up her humongous closet and cringed as she thought of all the girly outfits within it. Quickly Clary attempted to find something relatively normal. She was actually quite surprised by the outcome.

Clary looked at herself in the mirror. She found a gold top and jeans. There were no sneakers but Clary did manage to find a cute pair of combat boots. In the end, she was happy to look at least similar to her old self.

Just as Clary was about to leave she caught a glimpse of a symbol on a pin sitting among some of the other jewelry in her room. Clary stopped and picked it up. She looked at it for a while. It was beautiful. A single black line curved around to create a sort of diamond with two lines jutting out from the top of it. As Clary continued to study it she suddenly remembered seeing symbols like this throughout the castle. Clary didn't give it a second thought as she pocketed the object and continued on.

Downstairs Clary quickly found the dining room. Thanks to Isabelle she could remember basically where everything was. Sitting at the table was Queen Jocelyn and King Valentine along with two people Clary didn't recognize, Isabelle and Alec.

Isabelle was the first to notice Clary when she walked in. Though her reaction to her new friend surprised Clary.

"Really," Izzy rolled her eyes. "Out of everything in that closet you manage to find the only boring outfit." Clary grinned as she took the seat next to the dark haired girl.

"I think you look lovely, darling," Jocelyn spoke.

"Thank you," Clary was still unsure what to call her.

"I trust that you were able to get settled in yesterday?" Valentine asked.

"Yeah, Isabelle even showed me around the city a bit."

"You had guards right?" Jocelyn sounded concerned and Clary almost laughed.

"Alec and Jace came along with us."

"Good, now speaking of Alec and Isabelle." Valentine motioned to the man and woman Clary didn't know. "These are their parents. Some of the noble families have been staying at the castle for the past few years and today is their last day before they will finally be able to return to their own homes."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both." Clary put her hand out to the couple across the table. They shook it in turn.

"You too princess. I am Maryse." The woman introduced herself first.

"And I'm Robert." The man said.

"So what do you mean that some noble families have been staying here? Why?" Clary turned to her parents hoping to get some answers about the war without asking directly.

"There is much you don't know, Clarissa," Jocelyn answered sweetly.

"When do you think I _will_ know?" Clary asked a bit more sharply than intended.

"In time, Clary. All in good time." Valentine said with a worried glance to his wife.

"Well," Clary stood up, "Thank you very much for breakfast and everything but I'm not hungry. I think I'll explore the city a bit more." Isabelle stood up to follow Clary but she was shortly stopped by her parents.

"Actually, you're already busy today, Clarissa," Jocelyn said and Clary turned back around curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"You have your first session with Simon Lewis today." The queen responded simply.

"When?" Clary was annoyed, she would've liked to have known about this.

The King checked his watch before looking up with a smile. "Now."

* * *

Clary sat outside with Simon in the chair across from her. She was fiddling with the pin she had found earlier as she looked at the forest behind them and watched as a deer bounded out from the tree line. It grazed in the field for a moment before something startled it and it leaped back into the safety of the trees.

"So, you ready?" Simon suddenly spoke, almost stuttering.

"Ready for what?" Clary asked just to mess with him.

"For your... your first lesson." The boy seemed confused and Clary laughed.

"Relax, you're always so awkward. Simon, don't think of me as a princess. Think of me as a normal average civilian. Not royalty." Simon closed a notebook that was on the table in front of him and smiled.

"I'm just a very awkward person, it's not just you."

Clary raised her eyebrows. "Well is there anyone you're ever not awkward around?"

"I guess I'm pretty comfortable around my friends Eric, Matt, Kirk, Jordan, and Maia," Simon said after thinking for a moment.

"Alright, well then just think of me as one of them. Pretend we've known each other forever."

"No offense, Clary, but I don't know anything about you," Simon said and Clary knew it was true.

"Okay..." She jolted up in her seat and leaned on the table. "I've been moved around all my life so I've literally never had a friend. My foster mom was named Camille and I had two foster brother's named Jonathon and Sebastian. I love to paint and draw. And that's really it, I'm not a very interesting person. Now you."

Simon laughed. "I wouldn't consider myself very interesting either. Plus, we're sorta supposed to be studying..." Simon started opening up a textbook but Clary slapped the cover of the book back down and stared the boy in the eyes.

"Come on, I want to know all about Simon." Clary narrowed her eyes and Simon eventually gave in. He sighed and slumped back in his chair.

"I live with my mom and my sister. My dad died a long time ago. My mom has always worked for the king and queen so when I was born she would take me with her a lot, that's how I met Izzy and the others. I can play the bass and-"

"You can play guitar?" Clary cut him off excitedly.

"Yeah, it's really no big deal though."

"Yes, it is!" Clary stood up and took Simon's wrist. "Does the castle have like a music room or something?"

"No... but I have a guitar back at my house." Simon said slowly but a look of regret grew on his face after Clary's smile widened. "No, you're not allowed-"

"I don't care! Oh please, I do not feel like learning today. And I mean, what's the worst that could happen if I go into the city without a guard?"

* * *

Back in the city, nothing had really changed from the day before. Simon had forced Clary to put on a hoodie just so that no one would recognize her and so far it was woking. She was able to enjoy all the sights without a giant spotlight on her. Simon, on the other hand, looked like they just committed a crime.

"You need to relax!" Clary whispered to Simon who just rolled his eyes.

"If your parents find out about this- scratch that, if _Jace_ finds about this I am dead," Simon stated.

"Why would Jace care?" Clary asked as they rounded a corner.

"He'll take any reason he finds to be mad at me. That guy hates my guts." Clary laughed.

"I've been wondering about that. Why does he hate you so much?"

"I'm not a noble and... he knows I've always sort of had a thing for Isabelle and since she's like his sister... well." Simon stopped in front of a building. "Okay, here we are."

"Wait, you have a thing for Izzy?" Clary smiled widely.

"I repeat: Okay, here we are. Let's go inside before someone recognizes you." Simon grabbed Clary's wrist and tugged her towards the apartment building.

"Okay I'll drop the Izzy thing, but does Jace really care so much about nobility that he hates you for being a commoner?" Clary asked as she and Simon started walking upstairs.

"It's all about blood. He doesn't really care about material objects or money or anything, it's just about coming from the same place."

"I guess I sort of get it, but that still seems really stupid."

"Well, Jace is stupid," Simon said under his breath and Clary laughed. "Don't tell him I said that unless you want to find me dead in a sewer somewhere," Simon said sternly to Clary but with a smile on his face.

"Well of course not, wouldn't want you to end up dead. Then I wouldn't be able to learn anymore." Sarcasm dripped from Clary's voice and Simon elbowed her in the arm.

"The history of Idris is not all that bad," Simon said as he walked up to a door. "It can actually be pretty interesting."

"That's what all the tutors say." Clary joked as Simon unlocked his door and they stepped inside.

"Well they should know, they are supposedly smart after all." Clary took off her hoodie and saw that Simon was about to continue when someone spoke from within the apartment.

"Simon is that you?" Clary could hear them walking closer. "I thought you were supposed to be tutoring the princess... today." The girl that entered froze when she saw Clary.

"Hi." Was all Clary said before Simon introduced them.

"Rebecca this is Princess Clarissa, Clary this is my older sister Rebecca." Simon smiled worriedly. "Becks what are you doing home? I thought you were going to be out today."

"I was but then my plans got canceled. Simon, why is the princess here? What did you do?" Rebecca spoke quietly to her brother but Clary could still here.

"Actually, I wanted to come here. I'm not used to all the royal treatment and I didn't really feel like getting a lesson today." Clary answered and the girl looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Of course, my princess, but do their Majesties actually know you're here?" Rebecca's gaze went from Clary to Simon who made a face giving away the answer. "Oh, Jesus Christ."

"It's okay, I'll be the one getting in trouble for this, it was my idea," Clary reassured her.

"You know what, I'm just going to leave. That way I can't be held responsible for this." Rebecca walked backward towards the door. "It way nice meeting you, your highness, and bye." She slammed the door behind her and Clary burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Simon asked though he had a smile on his own face.

"I don't know, I just... that seemed oddly normal. It was just funny." Clary plopped down on Simon's couch and sighed. "I like your place."

Simon sat down next to Clary. "Thanks."

Clary looked around for a bit before her eyes settled on the game console beneath the tv across from the couch. Clary turned to Simon with a smile.

"I bet I can beat you in COD." Simon raised his eyebrows when he looked back at her.

"Oh, you are on." Simon grabbed two controls and passed one to Clary as the tv turned on.

 **Hope you guys liked seeing Clary and Simon bonding. It feels kind of weird to not have them have known each all their lives but idk. Anyway, please review and I'll try to update soon!**


	7. Tutors and Lords

Clary stretched out with a controller in her right hand. She had just beaten Simon for the sixth time out of the eleven games they had played. Clary blinked as she looked out of the window and realized the sun was in a completely different spot than it had been when they started playing.

"Oh my god!" Clary exclaimed and Simon jumped. "What time is it?"

Simon pulled out his phone and his eyes widened. "3:57. We've been playing for almost seven hours?"

"And my session with you was supposed to end three of those hours ago. I am so dead." Clary dropped the controller and held her head in her hands.

"They're not going to blame you, you're the princess and you're new. If anything I'm the one that's dead." Simon pointed out.

"Don't worry, I won't let you get in trouble. But we should probably leave now so we don't get in even worse trouble." Clary said as she stood up and rushed over to where she had thrown her hoodie down.

Simon agreed and soon they were running down the stairs. Once outside Clary tightened her hood around her face and briskly walked alongside Simon. As they were walking Clary noticed a familiar face. Her father's advisor, Hodge, was watching the streets, no doubt looking for her.

To avoid being caught Clary grabbed Simon's sleeve and yanked him into the nearest store. The moment they were inside Clary took a deep breath and immediately smelled cinnamon. She looked around to realize they were in a bakery.

"Jeez, what was that about?" Simon asked gingerly rubbing his wrist.

Clary rolled her eyes. "I saw Hodge. Do you have any cash on you? I'm starving." Clary looked down at some of the baked good before hearing a familiar voice.

"Clary?" She looked up over the counter to see Magnus Bane. "Hey, there biscuit, what are you doing in here?" He looked around and raised an eyebrow. "Without a guard?"

"I may or may not have snuck out with Simon and then accidentally stayed out too long causing my parents to send people out to look for me, one of whom I'm trying to avoid now." Clary took a deep breath after speaking so quickly and Magnus laughed.

"Of course you did. Here, you can go out the back way to get away from them." Magnus ushered Clary and Simon into the back door.

"Thanks, Magnus, you're a lifesaver," Clary said as she followed him.

"I used to do this for Isabelle all the time when she would stay out past curfew and Alec would get mad looking for her." Magnus smiled at the memory. "Anyway, do you want a muffin or something for the road?" He stopped in front of one last door.

"Really!? That would be fantastic!" Clary smiled hopefully as Magnus quickly got her a chocolate chip muffin.

"Okay, now we _really_ need to go," Simon said. "It's past three now."

"Alright, alright. Thanks, Magnus, bye!" Clary waved as the door shut behind them. The moment it was fully closed she practically shoved the entire muffin in her mouth.

"Slow down Clare or you're going to choke." Simon chuckled as he watched Clary devour the thing.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry," Clary mumbled with a full mouth and Simon raised and eyebrow.

"What? I can't understand you." Clary chomped on what was currently in her mouth until she could swallow.

"Ugh, I said that I'm just really hungry." She repeated.

"Understandable," Simon shrugged back.

Soon the two reached the castle. They stood in front of the door scared of who might be behind it. Clary lifted a hand to open the door but then dropped it and stood there for another minute.

"The longer we wait the worst it's going to be." Simon pointed out.

"Shh, I'm trying to figure this out." Clary scratched behind her head. She paused for another few seconds before grabbing the handle of the door and just as she was about to open it someone spoke fro behind her.

She paused for another few seconds before grabbing the handle of the door and just as she was about to open it someone spoke from behind her.

"By the Angel, there you are. We've been looking for you everywhere." Jace half jogged up the steps. "Where were you?"

"At Simon's, we just sort of lost track of time. Sorry." Jace rolled his eyes and pushed past her to open the front door.

"Time doesn't really matter, it's sort of the fact that you were in the city without a guard. This place may look friendly but it's got its bad parts too." Jace scowled at her.

"I don't get it, why do you even care?" Clary crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because I'm supposed to be in charge of you, along with Alec and a few others. Therefore it's our responsibility to know where you are and make sure you're safe at all times. You're making me look bad at my job." Jace turned and walked away but Clary stomped after him.

"Well if you guys are supposed to be watching me then how did I get away so easily in the first place? Maybe instead of blaming me for not doing your job, you should be blaming yourself." Clary yelled back.

"Don't try to pin you sneaking out on me. I did my job when I was searching the city for the past hour under your parent's instructions. Now that you're a princess, maybe you should start acting like one and lose the little rebellious attitude." Jace made a little motion with his hands and Clary's mouth dropped.

"Excuse me? I do _not_ have an attitude. Where do you get off telling me that anyway?" Clary and Jace continued to argue back and forth. Simon stood a few feet away watching the whole thing unravel until he finally had enough of it.

"Hey, you guys," They both paused and turned to Simon. "Yeah, so I think I'm just going to go now. I'll see you later Clary." Simon turned and walked away before Clary had a chance to stop him.

"Look at that, you scared away rat-face," Jace said, only now he wasn't yelling and sounded like his sarcastic self.

Clary glared at Jace. "His name is not rat-face." She said before storming off in the other direction, she would've gone after Simon but after her fight with Jace, Clary was not in the mood for social interaction.

Clary ended up back in her room. She lied in her bed and stared at the pin she had found earlier. She was so focused on the thing that she failed to notice when Isabelle entered her room.

"That's your families crest." Isabelle walked over and sat on the edge of Clary's bed. "It's pretty, I've always admired it."

"What does your families crest look like?" Clary asked sitting up.

"It's these two snakes wrapped around a sword. It's really lame." Isabelle said with a small smile and Clary shook her head.

"Definitely sounds lame," Clary replied with a chuckle. "Yeah I mean everything about this place is just so... lame." Both Clary and Isabelle laughed. Clary couldn't really deny that she felt comfortable around Isabelle, she was a good friend even if they hadn't known each other long.

"So where did you disappear off to? Your parents have been worried sick. They do know you're back right?" Isabelle raised an eyebrow.

"I was out with Simon and I don't know. I went straight up to my room after..." Clary stopped herself unsure what to say next.

"After..?" Isabelle pushed.

"After I had a fight with Jace." Clary continued after a moment.

"Really?" Isabelle seemed surprised.

"Yeah, he seemed really pissed off that I snuck out with Simon." Clary set down her pin and scooted to the edge of the bed next to Isabelle.

"Really?" Izzy's voice changed that time and Clary narrowed her eyes.

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing... it's just not really like Jace to get mad about stuff like that." Isabelle had a small smile on her face that kept Clary curious.

"He said that I made him look bad at his job," Clary responded and Isabelle laughed.

"Jace doesn't care about his job." She shook her head. "He's been acting so weird lately, by the angel."

Clary cocked her head. "Weird how?"

"I... I actually don't know. It's not really something specific, he's just been different." Isabelle sighed before seemingly remembering something. "Oh, your parents wanted me to tell you that there's going to be a homecoming ball for you in about a week."

"A ball? Really?" Clary was exasperated.

Izzy shrugged. "It'll be fun, it'll give you a chance to meet all the nobility."

Clary groaned. "Okay fine."

"Yay!" Isabelle clapped and hopped off the bed. "I have to go now but I'll see you later."

"Bye Iz," Clary called out as the girl left her room.

* * *

A few days later Clary was getting another lesson from Simon. This time they didn't sneak off though. They couldn't. They were being watched.

Clary yawned and rested her head in her hands. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as Simon continued to drone on.

"Clary? Clary wake up." Simon snapped in front of her face and Clary's head jerked up.

"Agh, sorry," Clary said shaking her head.

"You alright?" Simon closed the textbook.

"Yeah, just really tired with all the planning for that stupid party coming up," Clary said.

"I think we're just about done for the day anyway." Simon began collecting his things and Clary stood up.

"Great, hey we need to hang out again, you know outside of tutoring," Clary suggested as she and Simon started walking inside.

"Wouldn't that be something, I sincerely doubt that would ever happen. Your parents may like me but we run in two completely different circles." Simon laughed as if the idea was ridiculous.

"I never chose to be in the circle I'm in and I don't even know most of the nobility yet, but if they're anything like what I'm expecting I'm not going to like them." Clary noticed that the guard watching them before was now following them inside.

"Well at the homecoming ball you're going to get a chance to meet all of them." Simon pointed out.

"Ugh don't remind me. You're going to be there right?" Clary stopped Simon and raised her eyebrows hopefully.

"The invitation for the ball extends out to everybody in Idris, but I don't know-" Simon started to say but Clary cut him off.

"Please, you have to! It's going to be so boring, I won't know anyone there." Clary begged.

"Really? You'll have Isabelle and Alec and Jace-"

"I'll have Isabelle, you mean. But she's going to make me do stuff and act like a princess, I need someone to make fun of everybody else with. Pleeaase Simon." Clary gave Simon puppy dog eyes and he sighed before caving in.

"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not going to like it."

"Thank you, you won't regret it. I promise." Clary squeezed Simon in a hug. "Okay I have to go now, but I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye Clary." Simon hugged Clary back before the two parted. Clary looked back over her shoulder to see that the guard had left.

Clary sighed before continuing on through the castle. As she was headed towards the kitchen for a snack she passed by Jace. Under his breath, she heard him say something.

"Princess."

"Pillock." Clary decided to insult him back causing Jace to stop and turn to Clary.

"What did you just call me?" Jace raised an eyebrow.

"A pillock. Why are you too stupid to understand that I'm calling you stupid?" Clary smiled tauntingly.

"No I know what a pillock is, I've just never been called one before." Jace crossed his arms.

"Well," Clary started walking backward towards the kitchen. "You might want to get used to being called things you haven't heard before. See you later, dullard." Clary turned around but right before she did she thought she saw a smile appear on Jace's face.

 **Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!  
**


	8. Sprains and Balls

"Done." Isabelle set down a makeup brush and grinned. Clary opened her eyes and looked in the mirror in front of her. Today was the day of the homecoming ball and Isabelle had insisted on helping Clary get ready. Now the party was half an hour away from starting and Clary had butterflies in her stomach.

Even as she looked at what Isabelle had done to her Clary still didn't feel ready for this. She hadn't exactly been trained in how to act at one of these things. She had never even gone to any parties when she lived in America and she assumed that even if she had they would've done the opposite of help.

But now Clary sat beside Isabelle. Her hair was flowing down her back with a flower barret near her ear. Her makeup was done simply and yet exquisitely. And above all her dress was beautiful. It was floor length and faded from gold to orange to red from top to bottom. The golden-white heels she was wearing matched it perfectly.

"This may be my best work yet," Isabelle said thoughtfully.

"And this may be the prettiest I've ever looked." Clary cocked her head and narrowed her eyebrows. She didn't look like herself.

"Oh please," Isabelle responded as she began to clean up some of the makeup on the counter. "You're always pretty, I just emphasized that."

Clary smiled. "Is this what having a female friend is like?"

"What do you mean?" Isabelle sat down across from Clary.

"You know all the lying and-" Isabelle scoffed and threw a shoe at Clary prompting her to laugh.

"I am not a liar. Ask anyone I know." Isabelle said with confidence.

"How about Alec?" Clary smiled.

Isabelle grimaced a little. "Maybe not him."

"Jace?" Clary's smile grew a little.

"Eh-"

"Magnus?"

"Well..."

"How about Simon?" Clary was almost laughing at this point.

"Okay Simon, yes, ask Simon and he will tell you that I am not a liar." Isabelle seemed relieved to finally have found a person. Clary narrowed her eyes at the girl until she scratched her head. "Okay, there may have been one time when I lied to him." Clary laughed and Isabelle couldn't help but join in.

"Alright, we should really get going. I think my parents wanted me to be there a little bit early." Clary finally said once they both managed to catch their breath.

"Right, I'll just go down with you. I don't really feel like going all the way back home. I mean I'm already here so..." Isabelle shrugged as the two girls exited Clary's room.

"But aren't all the noble families supposed to make like an entrance later so I can meet you all?" Clary said.

"Well yeah, but you already know me."

"I don't think that's the point..." Clary chuckled. She set her foot on the first step of the stairs and was suddenly falling.

Clary heard Isabelle call her name as she tumbled down the entire flight of stairs. It was only when she neared the bottom that she did a front flip and magically landed on her butt. Clary blinked several times to help her vision steady and drew her left leg up to her chest so she could hold her throbbing ankle.

"By the Angel! Clary, are you okay?" Isabelle came barrelling down the stairs and crouched down next to Clary.

"I think so, it's just my ankle." Clary winced as she tried to roll her left ankle.

"Can you walk?" Isabelle said even as she took Clary's hands to help her stand.

"Yeah, yeah." Clary's voice was strained as she put pressure on her foot. "Well, at least now I won't have to dance."

"Maybe you should see a doctor. You might've sprained it." Isabelle kept one hand on Clary's arm to steady her.

"No, I can't. Everybody would be so disappointed if this party was suddenly canceled." Clary pointed out and Isabelle frowned.

"Well, be careful. Don't try to walk around too much and you're right, you won't be dancing." Izzy said sternly and Clary smiled.

"Probably for the best, I couldn't dance if my life depended on it." Isabelle shook her head at Clary's joke but was smiling.

"Alright, come on. I'll help you get to the party but then you'll be on your own." Isabelle said and the two started making their way towards the great hall. "Try not to limp too much and you should maybe stay near a wall or a table so you have something to hold on to. And if you need help just signal for me."

"Isabelle!" Clary stopped them right before they entered the ballroom. "I've got it."

Isabelle nodded slowly before letting go of her friend. They entered the large room and it wasn't long before Clary spotted the king and queen. Both Isabelle and Clary made their way over to her parents as people around them finished preparing the room for the ball.

"Ah Clarissa, there you are. Hello, Isabelle." Jocelyn greeted them first.

"My king, my queen." Isabelle curtsied.

"So what should we be doing?" Clary asked.

"Still avoiding those pronouns I see," Isabelle whispered in Clary's ear and Clary sneakingly punched the girl in the arm. It was true, she still wasn't calling her parents by mom and dad or their names. She still didn't know what she wanted to call them.

"Well the first guests should be arriving shortly but you won't actually have to do anything until about an hour in when we will start introducing the nobility," Valentine explained. "We'll show you what to do when the time comes. For now, you can talk with Isabelle and mingle once the guests arrive."

"Okay," Clary replied awkwardly. She turned and walked away with Izzy trying her best to hide the limp but with every step, a white hot pain shuddered up her leg.

"You doing alright?" Isabelle asked worriedly.

"Yup," Clary said through gritted teeth. "But this is going to be a long night."

* * *

After a few hours, Clary was still standing next to her parents. The nobles were arriving at varying times and Clary was having a hard time balancing on one foot, more so on one heel. She had a feeling that almost all the noble families had arrived but knew the party was long from over.

"The Carstairs." The announcer said and large family entered. "Lord Aldertree." He said after they left and a single man entered. "And lastly Lord Graymark." The announcer stepped away as one final man bowed before them.

"Oh Luke, no Amatis?" Jocelyn asked as she stepped forward to give the man a hug.

"No, I'm afraid my sister was unable to make it today, though I know she has been dying to meet young Clarissa here." Luke turned to Clary. "You probably don't remember me."

"No, I'm afraid not." Clary smiled as she shook the man's hand. Despite what she had set there was something about this man that seemed familiar to Clary, it was strange because nobody else in Idris had looked familiar.

"Lucian is one of your mother's and my closest friend. He's from one of the most prestigious noble families. Though he has yet to find a wife to continue that line with." Valentine turned to Luke with a grin and Clary raised her eyebrows. It was clear from how the two were acting that they were good friends. Valentine certainly wasn't acting like his kingly self.

"Valentine I told you, I simply haven't found the right girl yet," Luke replied as he rolled his eyes.

"Luke you kill me. There are plenty of fine women in the kingdom." Valentine replied and Clary cleared her throat. Despite how touching it was to see that her parents had friends she no longer wanted to be a part of this conversation.

"I think I'm going to find Isabelle or perhaps Simon now. It was very nice to meet you though, Luke." Clary said as she ran her hand along the wall beside her to steady herself as she backed away.

"Alright Clarissa, have fun." Jocelyn patted Clary on the shoulder and then turned to Luke and Valentine to continue their conversation. Clary sped away allowing herself to limp as she tried to find someplace to sit.

Eventually, Clary ended up near a stairwell. She leaned against the banister and looked out at the crowd. She had yet to see Simon or find Isabelle after they were forced to part when the nobility began to arrive. So needless to say, Clary was dying of boredom.

Clary was about to give up on her search for her friends and attempt to sneak out when she felt someone appear behind her.

"Bored?" Jace whispered in Clary's ear causing her to jump. She turned around to see him leaning against the banister beside her and looking out at the people around them. "Me too."

"Jesus Christ, you scared to crap out of me Jace," Clary said with wide eyes and Jace finally looked down at her.

"You're very easily scared." Clary didn't know how to respond to that so Jace continued. "Anyway, why are you hiding over here? Shouldn't you be out mingling and dancing?" He motioned to the dance floor before them and Clary shrugged.

"Haven't really met anyone interesting enough to talk to yet, plus I'm can't really dance in heels." Clary tried to hide her grimace as she shifted her weight for just a moment in an attempt to give her right leg a break. Jace narrowed his eyes.

"You're in pain." He said it as a fact and Clary raised her eyebrows.

"No, I'm not, what are you talking about?" Clary shrugged and Jace crossed his arms.

"Yes you are, I can see it in your eyes. What happened?" Jace seemed so sure of this that Clary knew she wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.

"I may have fallen down the stairs right before the party and it's possible that my ankle could maybe be kind of sprained." Clary shifted her weight again but this time she didn't try as hard to hide her grimace.

"Which ankle?" Jace asked motioning to her feet.

"The left one," Clary replied.

Jace seemed to think for a moment before motioning to her feet again. "Here let me see."

"I can't just-" Clary was cut off when one of the nobles she met earlier suddenly approached her in a very drunken state.

"Princess Clarissa. It is so- so good to have you back." Clary recognized the man to be Lord Ravenscar. "You know during the war, most people thought you were dead. On account of the assassins and all." The man slurred his words but Clary understood him well enough. Her mouth fell slightly open when another man, seemingly his son, appeared by his side.

"So sorry, my princess. He's drunk and doesn't know what he's talking about." The man pulled Ravenscar away before Clary could even process it.

She turned around to Jace who looked shocked. Not by the information that was given but by the fact that someone just said it. Jace opened his mouth to say something but Clary was already gone. She ignored the now constant throbbing pain in her ankle and rushed towards her parents. When she found them she ignored everyone they were talking to and pushed past to face them.

"I want to know about the war," Clary said with a harsh tone.

"Clary what are you-"

"Everybody else clearly knows something I don't and that something is why I was put in America when I wasn't even one. I want to know about the war." Clary cut off her father from speaking.

Jocelyn and Valentine looked at each other with worried eyes before Jocelyn spoke. "Now isn't exactly the time to have this conversation, Clary."

"No, now is the perfect time. This is my homecoming ball and I want to know why I need to be coming home in the first place." Clary said, her voice still harsh as ice.

"Clary we will not discuss this now. These people are still recovering from the events of the past 18 years and this is not something to be discussed in a public setting." Valentine spoke equally as harshly right back to Clary. His voice was low but his tone was just as impacting as if it had been loud. "You will obey us right now because we are your parents and we are the king and queen. Now is not the time."

Something about the way Valentine spoke hit Clary hard. She stared at her parents for one last moment before nodding her head solemnly and walking away. But instead of rejoining the party she snuck out a back door and found her way to a staircase.

When Clary reached the stairs she let herself cry. She didn't know what it was she was crying about just that Valentine had hit a trigger in her and now she couldn't stop. After a minute Clary finally took a deep breath and got the tears to stop. It was only then that she wondered how she would manage to get up the stairs with her ankle.

Clary plopped down on the first step and took off her shoes. She threw them to the side before noticing her swollen ankle. Clary reached down to touch the purple and a pulse of pain spread up through her leg. She cried out softly in pain before looking around for something to possibly wrap her foot in. When Clary failed to see anything within a few yards she heard footsteps. She quickly covered her bruised ankle with her dress as the person rounded the corner. Clary let out a deep sigh when she saw who it was.

"Are you following me?" She asked as Jace joined her on the steps.

"At the party no, in this instance yes... you looked pretty upset when you stormed out and I figured all that stomping couldn't have been good for your foot." Jace bent over and lifted up the hem of Clary's dress. He almost smiled when he saw the injury.

"You smile because?" Clary asked angrily, after what just happened with her parents she was in no mood for jokes.

"Because you've managed to last over four hours in heels with a severely sprained ankle. That had to be hard." Clary cocked her head as the golden-boy spoke. She wondered if he had anything to drink considering he was acting strangely nice.

"Well high school has a way of teaching you how to deal with pain," Clary said and Jace smiled fully.

"Really? High school was always great for me."

"Why am I not surprised?" Clary scoffed and shook her head.

"Okay, but seriously," Jace stopped smiling and cleared his throat. "Are you alright, why are you sitting on the steps?"

Clary looked behind her at the stairway and shrugged. "I can't walk up it." Clary looked back at Jace and he laughed.

"Seriously? Alright, come on." Jace stood up and offered his hand down to Clary.

"What?" Clary asked not taking his hand.

"I'm going to carry you, come on." Jace shook his hand and Clary grabbed it and pulled herself up. Before she had any time to react Jace lifted her off her feet and carried her bridal style. "Jeez you're like a feather, how much do you weigh?" Jace asked and tossed Clary up a little bit.

"Okay, how bout we _don't_ do that," Clary said clutching Jace's neck.

"Whatever you say, _princess._ " Jace began walking up the stairs when he spoke and Clary slapped him on the back of the head. "Do you think if I were to drop you now you'd have two sprained ankles?" Jace asked looking down at Clary after she hit him.

Clary thought for a moment. "Couldn't that be considered treason since you're purposefully injuring your princess." Jace opened his mouth to rebuttal but then immediately closed it prompting Clary to laugh.

"I regret helping you," Jace said as he reached the top of the stairs.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Clary held back a laugh when Jace glared at her.

"Hey, I'm probably the closest thing to a knight you'll find nowadays," Jace commented as he nudged Clary's door open.

"Farthest," Clary spoke under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing it's just that you accidentally said the closest thing instead of the farthest thing to a knight." Clary smiled up at Jace and his face went slack before he carelessly dropped Clary onto her bed. Clary rolled over onto her back and laughed. "You just proved my point, no knight would've done that."

"I'm just a very unconventional knight," Jace shrugged. "Okay, I'm going to tell the castle's doctor you hurt yourself and tomorrow he should be up here to examine your ankle, which is probably a lot worse than it would've been since you went so long without doing anything."

Clary sat up in her bed as Jace turned to leave. Right before he reached the door she called out to him.

"Jace," He turned around with his hand on the doorknob. "Thank you," Clary said quietly and Jace almost seemed to smile.

"Goodnight, princess." And then he was gone.

 **So, little bit of Clace now, but trust me it's going to be a little while longer till any actual Clace happens. I'm still trying to figure out where to work in some Sizzy and Malec. Anyway I hope y'all liked this chapter! I'll try and update soon.**


	9. Crushes and Traitors

**Hello Angels! So honestly y'all's reviews make my day. You're so nice and I love getting feedback. Anyway, this chapter is going to be half from Jace's POV...**

JACE'S POV

The morning after Clary's homecoming ball Jace woke up with a headache. He threw on some clothes before making his way downstairs to get some breakfast. Upon reaching the kitchen he was surprised to see Alec there.

"Alec, what are you doing here so early?" Jace asked his oldest friend.

Alec shrugged. "I figured you'd probably be pretty hungover so I made you some remedies." Alec pushed a plate of bacon and a glass of orange juice towards Jace.

"Thanks man, but I wasn't _that_ drunk." Jace leaned against the counter next to Alec and began eating. "I remember _everything_ that happened last night."

"What does that mean?" Alec asked suspiciously.

"I... did something that I probably shouldn't have." Jace said running his hand through his hair.

"Well don't stop there," Alec crossed his arms over his chest and turned his body towards Jace. "What did you do?"

Jace swallowed a piece of bacon before answering. "Clary hurt herself and I carried her up to her room."

"Nothing happened right?" Alec's eyes went wide.

"No, of course not. I'm not that stupid."

"Good, because with your parents and everything..." Alec started to say but Jace cut him off with a sideways glance towards the door.

"Yeah, I know. I need to be careful. It's just, I can't believe what they did during the war and how they were able to hide it all from the king and queen..." Jace shook his head and went back to eating.

"You need to be more careful around Clary. I know you have feelings for the princess but..."

"I don't-" Jace started to say but with one look from Alec he rolled his eyes and looked away. "Shut up."

"I'm just saying." Alec put up his hands defensively.

"I know, but it's all very complicated. I mean, if my parents had their way they would try and make sure that I married the princess, then The Circle would have an in." Jace tapped his fingers on the counter. "You're the only other person that understands what I'm going through with your dad being part of it and all."

"Yeah, it's just weird to think that even though the war is over and everyone _thinks_ we've won The Circle is still thriving in secret. I wish we could tell the king and queen everything that was happening." Alec said lowering his voice.

"If we did the leader would literally kill us, whoever that is." Jace pointed out. Even with his parents and Alec's father part of the rebellion they had no idea who the leader of The Circle was, sometimes Jace wondered if even his parents knew.

Alec and Jace stood in silence for a moment. Jace thought back to everything that had happened in the past 18 years. Almost his entire life had been living through a war and even now that it was over Jace was still stuck in the middle of it all.

The Circle was the name of the group that had originally started the war against Idris. The king and queen thought they had killed off the last of the members but they were wrong, more wrong than they could imagine. The Circle still thrived with an unknown leader.

The only thing Jace knew was that he couldn't disobey his parents and he couldn't get close to the princess. No matter how badly he wanted to he could never put her further in harms way. It was bad enough that she was back in Idris. At any moment she could be murdered and Jace couldn't do a thing about it if he didn't want to die himself.

No matter what he did somebody was bound to die. And only him, Alec, and one other person knew about it.

* * *

CLARY'S POV

After getting her foot checked out the doctor had confirmed she broke it. Clary had almost wanted to smile when she heard the news. Sure, it wasn't exactly what most people would hope for but at least now she would get to be lazy as much as she wanted.

Clary was given a boot and cruches. So far she had gotten to spend the whole day with her parents on account they felt bad for her. Still, it was better than nothing. And lately she had felt like she was getting a whole lot of nothing.

Now, though, Clary had a session with Simon. Their lessons had been pushed back for today since Clary was with the doctor and her parents all morning. Simon had come up to her room and they were now sitting on the couch in Clary's room studying a textbook.

"Hey, so I didn't see you yesterday at the ball," Clary said once she started to get bored.

"Oh, yeah I got there a little late because we had a hard time getting Maia to go. I think I got there after you left," Simon said.

Clary laughed. "Well you didn't miss much. I just wish I had gotten the chance to leave earlier than I did."

"Where did you go anyway?" Simon asked and Clary paused.

"I umm, just went up to my room." Clary responded thinking about her encounter with Jace. She hadn't seen him today but that didn't seem too strange considering she hadn't seen Izzy or Alec either.

"There's something you're not telling me." Simon grinned and nudged Clary with his elbow. "Come on, spill."

Clary rolled her eyes but obliged. "Well after I left I couldn't walk up the stairs and Jace had followed me out so he carried me up." Clary blushed thinking about the way his arms had felt around her.

"Wait, I'm missing so much right now, why did Jace follow you out?" Simon raised an eyebrow and grinned suggestively.

"Stop," Clary pushed Simon playfully. "One of the nobles got blind drunk and accidentally told me something about the war so I got in a fight with my parents and Jace was with me when it happened so after I stormed out he followed me."

Simon narrowed his eyes. "Was he drunk?" Clary rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Maybe a little, but I mean he could walk in a pretty straight line." Clary scratched the back of her neck and Simon laughed.

"How do we always end up drifting off topic when we're studying." Simon said even as he closed and set down the text book.

"It's the universe telling us to stop these lessons?" Clary said hopefully and Simon raised his eyebrow. Clary shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

"I'm just doing my job, you're the one that always starts talking about something random." Simon pointed out.

"Well-" Clary was cut off when there was a knock on her door. The door opened slowly to reveal Isabelle.

"Hi!" The girl said excitedly as she closed the door behind her and walked over to Isabelle and Simon.

"Hey, Iz. I haven't seen you all day, what's up?" Isabelle bent over to give Clary a hug before sitting in a chair across from the couch.

"I know, I've been busy and I guess you have too. Sorry about your ankle, I can't help but feel like it was partially my fault you broke it." Izzy pouted.

"Don't sweat it," Clary shrugged. "It doesn't even hurt anymore and it wasn't your fault. I'm just very clumsy."

"You may be clumsy but have you broken 28 different bones in one day before?" Simon said from beside Clary.

"Have you broken 28 bones in one day Simon?" Isabelle asked slightly confused.

"No but Maia has." Simon laughed and the girls joined in.

"I'll have to meet this Maia some time. You know it sucks I didn't stick around for an hour longer at the ball, I could've met her then." Clary said.

"I think I've seen Maia once," Isabelle said, "I was walking with some of my friends in the city and I saw you and some girl walking around. She's pretty."

At that Simon just stuttered and scratched his head. "Oh yeah, no, I mean, umm." Clary and Isabelle looked at each other with a smile.

"Simon, do you like Maia?" Clary leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Well I mean," Simon looked back and forth between Clary and Isabelle before realizing he wasn't getting out of this conversation. "There was one time when we had a thing with each other, but that's long over."

Clary looked over at Isabelle with a pout, dissatisfied by the answer.

"Well is there anyone you like now?" Isabelle asked and Simon scratched his head awkwardly.

"No, no one you guys would know at least." Simon's voice was high and Clary laughed.

"Really?" Clary raised her eyebrows. Simon cleared his throat and then picked up the textbook they had long ago abandoned studying from.

"Yeah, hey why don't we go back to the lesson? Your parents will be mad at me if you learn nothing." Simon opened up the textbook and looked up to see that Isabelle and Clary had made no move. "Come on you guys, this is just mean."

Isabelle leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Fine, we'll leave you alone."

"But I'm not going to be happy about it." Clary glared at Simon

"And now we need something else to talk about." Isabelle pouted and a large grin grew on Simon's face.

"Instead of discussing my love life, why don't we discuss Clary's?" Simon looked over at the princess and slowly Isabelle's gaze followed.

"Oh? With who?" Isabelle raised an eyebrow and impossibly Simon's smile grew larger.

"Jace..." Simon said in a taunting tone.

"Damn my broken ankle." Clary said under her breath as thoughts of running out passed through her mind.

"JACE! As in Jace Herondale!?" Isabelle jolted up in her seat and looked down at Clary with wide eyes.

"I... have no idea what Simon is talking about." Clary shrugged and Isabelle sat back down on the edge of her seat.

"You don't, do you?" Simon asked and rubbed his chin. "Remind me what happened at the ball last night?"

Isabelle looked from Simon to Clary. "What happened at the ball last night Clarissa?"

Clary shrugged innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

In all honesty she wasn't entirely sure what to think of the events that happened the night before. After a lifetime without friends or a boyfriend Clary didn't really know what it was like for someone to like her back. And she didn't even know if something had happened between her and Jace or if it was just her imagination. She couldn't help but hope it was the former.

"Yes, you do." Simon rebutted.

"No, I don't." Clary refuted.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I-"

"By the Angel, shut up!" Isabelle cut the two off and they turned to look at her. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing, honestly. It was... I don't know." Clary said just as Isabelle's phone went off. She took her phone out of her pocket and stood up.

"Nobody tells me anything." Isabelle said quietly before heading towards the door. "You guys are lucky this is urgent. I'll see you later."

The moment the door closed behind Izzy Simon turned to Clary. He had set the textbook back down and was glaring at Clary questioningly.

"Why didn't you tell Isabelle what you told me?" Simon asked.

"Because I'm not entirely sure if what happened meant anything, so if you would please just keep it between you and me?" Clary put her hand on Simon's shoulder and he nodded.

"Sure, I'm keeping enough secrets already. What's one more?" He spoke so quietly that Clary didn't hear.

* * *

JACE'S POV

"Simon!" Jace called for the boy across the foyer of the castle. Simon turned to the sound and seemed to take a deep breath when he saw Jace.

"Hey Jace." Simon greeted him when they met in the middle of the room.

"Did you just get back from your lesson with the princess?" Jace asked, he was curious as to how her ankle was.

"Yeah, not like we actually focused though." Simon scoffed and Jace raised an eyebrow.

"What? Nevermind, how's her ankle doing?" At Jace's question Simon almost seemed to be trying to fight back a smile. In the end, he lost with himself and broke out into a grin.

"It's broken, she'll be wearing a cast for three weeks. But she's doing fine." Simon paused and stared at Jace for a moment. "Clary told me what you did last night." Jace had been looking around the foyer but now his gaze jerked back to Simon.

"Simon-" Jace said in warning.

Simon put his hands up. "I know, I know. I'm just saying. You might want to stay away from her for a while." Simon was still smiling.

"Well how about I make it your job to make sure Clary doesn't know anything. You shouldn't even know what you know, but you do so the least you can do now is keep others- aka Clary- out of it all." Jace spoke in a low tone.

"I know, and I'll try my best." Jace looked away from Simon again until he said his name. "But Jace, I can't convince Clary of something if you slip up. Be careful." Simon patted Jace on the shoulder before turning and leaving the castle.

 **So many secrets! I have this plan for something in the future of this story and omg. Just omg, that's all I can say about it because I die a little everytime I think of it. Anyhow, hope y'all liked this chapter and I'll try to update as soon as possible, which will probably be pretty soon considering I've been posting chapters almost daily.**


	10. Explanations and Tourists

It was a week after the homecoming ball and so far everything had been fairly quiet. Clary had her usual lessons with Simon and met with Isabelle almost daily. She hardly ever saw Jace other than the occasional insult the two would query. Not even Alec was around much anymore.

Now Clary sat in the garden behind the castle. She leaned against the trunk of a large tree and held a book in her lap. Even as she read her mind drifted causing her to have to reread every sentence twice. Eventually, Clary gave up and gazed out at the flowers around her.

The place was truly beautiful with flowers of every color of the rainbow. The stone pathways throughout the garden didn't disturb it's natural essence either. They seemed strangely organic among the vegetation.

Clary slowly pushed herself up and hobbled around the garden. The sun was shining brightly but the breeze kept Clary cool enough. There was a large forest a few yards behind the garden with a field separating them. Clary reached where the garden met the field before she heard someone call for her.

"Clary," Jace looked around the garden before he finally saw her. "Your parents want to talk to you."

"What about?" Clary asked as she hobbled back to the castle. Jace met her half way and handed her her crutches.

"I have no idea, and aren't you supposed to be staying off your ankle?" Jace said as Clary reluctantly took the objects from him.

Clary shrugged. "They hurt my arms."

"I don't think that the king or queen would take that as a good excuse." Jace pointed out and Clary rolled her eyes.

"What would they take as a good excuse?" Clary asked rhetorically.

"When it comes to your health I doubt much," Jace responded anyway.

"Alright, well where are they?" Clary asked as they made their way through the castle.

"A place that you haven't seen yet," Jace replied guiding Clary down another hallway.

Surely enough Jace stopped in front of a door that Clary didn't recognize. This was part of the castle that Isabelle hadn't even shown to Clary. Her heart started racing as she thought of what her parents could possibly want to talk to her about in such secret.

"Good luck," Jace whispered before turning and briskly walking away.

Clary pushed the door open slowly. Inside was nothing that Clary would have guessed. The walls were a faded pink, there was a wooden crib in one corner and a rocking chair in another. There were baby toys scattered in one area on a large rug. Clary raised her eyebrows as she looked around for a moment later before her eyes landed on her parents.

"What is this?" Clary asked.

"This," Jocelyn motioned to the room. "Was originally your nursery. After we sent you to America we didn't change it."

Clary didn't know how to respond. She walked around the room letting the door fall closed behind her. After a moment she stopped near the crib.

"You asked about the war," Jocelyn continued. "We're going to tell you."

"Really?" Clary asked hopefully turning to the two.

"You see," Valentine began the explanation. "When you were born there was the beginning of a rise of this group called The Circle. They didn't agree with many of the laws, they wanted everything to be how it was centuries ago. Most of all they wanted to end the Fairchild line. Your mother and you were being constantly threatened. Everybody had once thought that Jocelyn would be the last Fairchild, but we had you."

"Wait, I thought that Fairchild was your name," Clary said cutting her father off.

"No, it's mine." Jocelyn answered. "The Fairchild name has been ruling Idris for as long as anyone could remember and my father was so heartbroken that he didn't have a son that when I married your father we agreed to keep my name."

"I have many brothers anyway." Valentine shrugged before continuing. "The death threats began to become a weekly thing. There were all these riots in the city, even murders."

"Then, when you were about five months old, the leader of the group declared war on us." Jocelyn scoffed. "We never thought it would escelate so much."

"But they started sending out assasins for you, Clarissa. You weren't safe in Idris anymore. So, we gave you to Luke who was going to raise you in America." Valentine started to almost pace around the room. "Somebody followed him though and he had to make a quick decision which is how you ended up in foster care. After that one of our other close friends was sent to America to watch you closely. We figured that the foster system was the best place for you to stay hidden."

"Once the war was over we had to make sure it was safe for you to come back. We were so excited to have our little girl back. While everything was settling down we sent Jace Herondale out to watch you for a little while. When he reported back about your graduation, well we decided to make an entrance." Jocelyn said.

Clary was overwhelmed. She had to wrap her head around the idea that someone attempted to kill her as a child, quite often too. Clary leaned against the wall next to her. Jocelyn walked over and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You were almost two-years-old when Luke had to leave. It was the hardest choice we ever made but Luke said it would be for the best. And in my opinion, you turned out pretty great." Jocelyn said sweetly and Clary looked up at her with a warm smile before she realized something.

"That's why he looked so familiar." Clary said under her breath.

"What?" Jocelyn asked.

"Luke, when I met him at the ball he seemed strangely familiar. That's why." Clary stood straight and almost laughed. "Thank you guys for telling me the truth."

"Of course," Valentine said. "You deserved to know."

"I think I'm just going to go to my room and relax for a while. This is a lot of information and I need time to let it sink in." Clary said and Jocelyn nodded.

"Of course, take your time. We'll see you at dinner." Just as Clary was turning to leave the room Valentine called out and stopped her.

"Oh and Clary, make sure you're up early tomorrow." Clary cocked her head in question. "We have a surprise for you."

* * *

The next morning Clary was forced awake at six. She groaned the entire time she got dressed and ate breakfast. She complained the whole way through the city as they drove down to the airport. That was when Clary realized they were at the airport.

"What are we doing here?" Clary asked as she got out of the car with her parents.

"I told you yesterday that we have a surprise," Valentine said.

Clary watched as a jet landed a little way away from them. When it came to a full stop a few people exited but Clary couldn't see who they were. They all got into a car and began driving towards Clary and her parents. Clary turned to the king and queen curiously as the car neared.

When it stopped Clary was filled with joy at who stepped out. First came Jonathon and Sebastian and then Camille. Clary ran towards them and hugged her foster mother as tight as possible. After a moment she grabbed her foster brothers and pulled them in.

"Oh my God, what are you guys doing here?" Clary asked excitedly as she released them.

"Your parents arranged for us to visit for a week. They thought you were feeling a little homesick." Camille replied and Clary looked back at Jocelyn and Valentine gratefully. "What happened to your foot?" Camille then asked looking down.

Clary shrugged. "I was forced to wear heels."

"Well, that explains it," Camille said laughing.

"Come on, you guys need to see the city. It's gorgeous." Clary grinned and led the three back to the car her and her parents had come in.

Once everybody (including the king and queen) was back in they were off. Jonathon and Sebastian kept their faces pressed to the window. Camille even turned to look at the glorious country before them.

The drive to the castle was purpousfully slow so that they could see the city. Citizens of Idris and tourists visiting eventually started to gather around the car when they realized the royal family was inside though forcing them to drive a bit faster. But when they reached the castle the look on Camille's face made Clary laugh.

"This is amazing. You _live_ here?" Camille said turning to Clary as they got out of the car.

Clary nodded her head. "Yeah, but trust me. It's a lot bigger on the inside."

Clary grinned as she followed her parents up the stairs to the front door. Clary was hit by a strange wave of deja vu from when she was being led up these stairs for the first time. She had been so shocked she didn't get to fully appreciate the place, so she could only imagine what was going through Camille's mind as the doors were pushed open and they stepped inside.

Jonathon and Sebastian both gasped a little as they saw the enterior. They looked up and walked around in circles through the foyer. Camille on the other stood by Clary's side with a gaping mouth.

"You're right," She said after a moment. "It is bigger inside."

Clary chuckled just as Isabelle and Alec entered the foyer. They both seemed oddly confused to see Camille and the boys.

"Who's this?" Isabelle wondered aloud as the two reached Clary and her parents.

"My foster family." Clary grinned as she replied. "This is Camille and that's Jonathon and Sebastian." Clary motioned to the boys who turned around at the sound of their names.

"Oh yeah, I remember you from the day we went to collect Clary," Alec said. "Thanks for convincing her to go." He held out his hand for Camille to shake and soon Isabelle did the same.

"Camille, this is Alec and Isabelle Lightwood. They're siblings from one of the noble families." Clary introduced them and Camille smiled politely.

"It's nice to meet you two," Camille said but her words were faint when sudden yelling could be heard down the hallway.

"I swear to the Angel, Simon. If you say that _one more time_ I am going to cut off each of your fingers individually and feed them to the horses." Jace suddenly appeared around the corner with Simon tailing him though neither of them noticed the large group until Alec spoke.

"You know, I don't really think that would be healthy for the horses." Simon's head whipped around to look at everyone and Jace raised an eyebrow. They were both clearly confused by the guests.

Before either of the boys could get a word out though Isabelle spoke. "Jace, what did Simon do this time?"

Jace glared at Simon before answering. "He keeps insisting that if I were to take on Hodge in a fight I would lose."

"He's not willing to prove he wouldn't," Simon said with a shrug and Clary was confused.

"Wait, I thought Hodge was the royal advisor." She said and Valentine spoke up.

"He is but he also taught many of the nobles everything they know about fighting, including Mr. Herondale here." Clary looked back at Jace and Simon once he was done speaking.

"Well, why don't you want to prove it, Jace? I mean if you're so sure Simon's wrong." Clary teased him. "Unless you're chicken that is."

Jace's jaw tightened and he scoffed. "I am not a chicken, _princess,_ I just don't see the point in needing to prove myself to rat-face."

"Oh really?" Clary asked raising her eyebrows."

Jace narrowed his eyes and took a step closer so he was looking down at Clary. "Really.

The two locked eyes and for a second Clary forgot that they were currently surrounded by not only their friends but her parents too. Clary was locked in that position though, so close to Jace that she could almost feel his breath. It was only after a moment though that Jace broke their silence even still without stepping away.

"Who's that?" Jace lifted his arm to point to Camille. His eyes stayed locked with Clary's when he spoke but after a second he looked away and took a step back. Clary released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

"This is Camille, my foster mom. That's Jonathon and Sebastian." Clary replied. The two boys were now standing near Camille. "This," Clary pointed to Jace and Simon. "Is Jace Herondale and Simon Lewis. Noble and not."

Camille seemed to recognize Jace as she shook both their hands and after she spoke. "Isn't he the golden boy that you were so obsessed with?" Camille asked turning to Clary.

Clary's face went hot as she felt Jace's gaze turn to her. She glared daggers at Camille for a moment before turning to Jace.

"Obsessed with?" Jace raised an eyebrow which only added to his cocky ass smirk.

"I wouldn't go as far to say 'obsessed'," Clary said with air quotes. "But I mean who wouldn't be curious... you know, when some random guy-" Clary realized she was failing at an explanation as Jace's smirk grew. "Hey you know what? I'm going to show them around. Yup, gonna- bye!"

Clary grabbed Jonathon's arm in one hand and Sebastian's in the other before bolting out of the foyer. She stopped and waited in the hallway for Camille to catch up.

"Wow, that was awkward." Jonathon suddenly said and Clary looked down at him. "I'm nine and even I could see that." Clary raised her eyebrows as Sebastian spoke.

"I know, I was expecting them to kiss but I'm kind of glad they didn't. That would've been gross." Seb shuddered in disgust and Jon nodded his head in agreement.

Clary sighed. "This is going to be a long week..."

 **Hope y'all liked this chapter and, as always, I'll try to update soon!  
**


	11. Insults and Crowns

"Are you sure they can't stay for just a week longer?" Clary begged as she followed her parents through the castle. It had already been six days and tomorrow Clary's foster family was leaving.

"I'm sorry Clarissa but we have our annual dinner with the nobility next week. They'll be able to visit again in the future." Queen Jocelyn replied sympathetically but Clary still pouted.

"I don't even get what the big deal about this dinner is. Can't you push it back or something?" Clary asked and Valentine sighed.

"This dinner has been a tradition for centuries. It's not necessary but we like it and so do the nobles. It has always happened the same day every year and we're not changing that now." Valentine replied sternly.

Clary gave up. "Fine, I'm going to go off and find Camille, Jon, and Seb. They're in the city somewhere." Clary left the castle and pulled out her phone.

After sending a quick message to Camille Clary went off to find her. It was only when people passing by greeted Clary with ease that she realized she had left without a guard, and her parents hadn't stopped her. Clary stopped for a moment and looked back expecting someone to come after her. When no one did Clary shrugged and continued on.

Eventually, she met up with Camille. She and the boys were at a park. Camille sat on a bench while Jonathon and Sebastian ran around doing whatever they were doing. Clary plopped down next to Camille and smiled.

"One week is not long enough." She said resting her head on the woman's shoulder.

"We'll see you again soon. Plus, you have this city and all those new friends to keep you company while we're gone." Camille pointed out and Clary shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose I do. I mean, Izzy and Simon and Alec are all great." Clary said and Camille grinned down at her.

"And Jace?" Clary looked up and rolled her eyes with exasperation.

"Jace is... something else," Clary said and Camille laughed.

Camille sighed and looked out at the park and beyond to the city. "You'll be fine here."

"I know," Clary said softly. "Just sometimes I get a little nostalgic."

"It hasn't even been a month yet," Camille pointed out. "Give it time, you'll forget all about New York."

"I could _never_ forget New York," Clary said with a smile and she opened her mouth to continue but was cut off.

"Clary!" Camille and Clary turned around to see Alec and Jace walking towards them.

Clary cursed silently before turning back around and standing up.

"Heyy... what's up?" Clary asked awkwardly.

"Well it took them a moment but the king and queen realized you were forgetting something when you left," Alec said.

"Oh? What's that?" Clary asked full well knowing the answer.

"Us." Jace finished and Clary grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I was sort of hoping you guys wouldn't find me." Clary scratched her head and looked back at Camille who was smiling.

Jace rolled his eyes and Alec made no visible reaction.

"I'm sure you were," Alec said sounding tired. "But we're here now and there's really no way we're going away."

"Alright," Clary thought for a moment and shrugged. "Hey, Camille why don't we go down to Magnus' Bakery. He makes some great muffins."

Clary turned back to Alec, there was a variety of emotions on his face and he looked almost in pain.

"Fine," Alec said after a moment. "Let's go."

* * *

Later that day, Clary was wandering around. She ended up in the old throne room. It really wasn't used anymore and often the king and queen would let tourists in it but the place was still beautiful.

Clary ran her hand along a dust covered table until she hit a small box. She looked down at the box curiously and picked it up. It was heavier than she had expected and had swirling carvings all around it.

She popped open the latch easily and lifted the lid up. The inside of the box was lined with red velvet but the true beauty was the object in the box itself.

A golden crown sat in the center. Each of its three points had a small jewel atop them. Clary removed the crown and stared at it in awe. It had to be hers. She couldn't think of any other reason it would exist.

Clary slowly brought the crown up to her head and set it down. It sat on her head crookedly and Clary scrambled to find a mirror. When she did she was amazed at how different she looked just because of that one piece of jewelry.

"I see you found your crown." Jace suddenly appeared and walked over to where Clary stood.

Clary jumped when he spoke and took the crown off her head. "I swear to God Jace are you following me? You are literally everywhere." Clary said placing the crown back in the box.

"It would be impossible for me to be literally everywhere at once," Jace said and Clary glared at him. "And this is _my_ quiet spot, so if anything you're following me." Jace shrugged.

"Why is your quiet place in _my_ house though?" Clary asked. "And I was here first ergo you are following me." Clary crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, everybody expects your hideout to be in your own house. Plus your parents love me so I'm welcome here whenever." Clary rolled her eyes at Jace's response. "And you being here first means nothing, you could've figured out I like to come here and then waited for me to arrive."

"That's ridiculous," Clary said. "Why would I ever want to follow _you_? You're... _you!_ " Clary motioned to Jace.

"That just proves my point. I'm me so who wouldn't want to stalk me?" Jace leaned against the table and Clary rolled her eyes.

"Is it possible that your ego is bigger than the sun?" Clary said shaking her head and Jace grinned.

"Actually I had always thought of it the size of Jupiter but it may have grown recently." Jace shrugged.

Clary scoffed. "How are you so conceited all the time? I mean really, how has your head not exploded from your arrogance?"

"Please," Jace said when he realized Clary was holding back. "Tell me exactly what you think of me. Don't hold back."

Clary didn't speak for a long moment before finally exploding.

"You haughty, overbearing cur, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, narcissistic, insensitive- You're a pompous, stuck-up scum bag and a bigot! You warthog faced buffoon!" Clary took a deep breath when she was done and Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Warthog faced buffoon?" He asked.

"That last one was from a movie," Clary said sharply.

"Right..." Jace said and stopped leaning on the table. "Now you realized you called me arrogant about five different times in that sentence right?"

Clary looked up at the still smiling Jace and narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked angrily.

Jace leaned towards Clary before answering. "Because you're pretty adorable when you're mad." With that, he turned and began to walk towards the door. "See you later, Princess."

Clary's mouth had fallen slightly open. She quickly closed her mouth and took a deep breath. Jace aggravated her so much, everything she had said about him was true. For the most part at least. But Clary still couldn't deny that she felt something more than just hatred for him.

* * *

Clary stood with Jocelyn and Valentine at the airport. They were wishing Camille and the boys goodbye and Clary couldn't help herself from getting a little emotional.

"I'll miss you guys," Clary said to Camille.

"We'll miss you too," Camille replied giving Clary a hug.

"Call me when the plane lands and then again when you get home, okay?" Clary said and Camille laughed.

"Of course." Clary gave her foster mother one last hug before turning to Jonathon and Sebastian.

"Be good for Camille, I mean it. No more terrorizing the neighbor's dog or spilling paint on the kids in your class." Clary said sternly and both boys rolled their eyes at the same time.

"You pour purple paint on someone _once_ and it follows you forever," Sebastian said and shook his head.

Clary laughed. "Alright, bring it in." She opened her arms up for a hug and both boys wrapped their own arms around her. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye Clary," Jon said.

"Bye," Seb said after and Clary ruffled both their hairs.

"Bye guys."

Soon the three were getting on the plane. Camille paused as she was going up the steps and looked back at Clary. She smiled sadly and waved before turning back around and continuing up the stairs.

Clary went back to the car with her parents and watched as the jet flew away.

"Thank you guys for bringing them here," Clary said to Jocelyn and Valentine. "It meant a lot to me."

"Of course," Jocelyn replied. "Anything for you."

 **Hey! So, I know this one was a little shorter but trust me when I say that the next chapter will make up for that... or it might the chapter after next I'm not entirelly sure at the moment. But, bye for now! I hope y'all liked this one.**


	12. Kisses and Poison

**I'm really bored today and I have been dying to reach this chapter so here you go, two updates in one day.**

"Clary, Clary, Clary! Guess what?!" Isabelle came running into Clary's room squealing with excitement.

Clary froze. She had been in the middle of changing for the dinner that evening.

"Isabelle! Do you mind?" Clary said trying to cover up but Izzy just shrugged.

"Not really, but _guess what!"_ Isabelle squealed again before shoving her phone into Clary's face. "Magnus wants to ask out Alec."

Clary pushed the phone back a little bit so she could see what Isabelle was showing her. It was a screenshot from a conversation between her and Magnus.

"That's really fantastic Iz, but could we maybe talk about this in like two minutes? I'm half naked." Clary said and Isabelle turned around with a roll of her eyes.

"It's not like it's anything I haven't already seen." Isabelle pointed out but remained facing the other way.

"Thank you," Clary said as she finished tugging on her dress.

Her parents had said to dress formal, Clary decided she would do the bare minimum of formal. She wore a simple navy blue dress with a black ribbon wrapped around the middle. It was still a bit much for Clary.

"Okay, you can turn around now," Clary said and Isabelle looked at her.

" _That's_ what you're wearing? You have to dress up a bit more than that." Isabelle said crossing her arms and Clary rolled her eyes. What else did she expect?

"I'm fine as is, not everybody wants to look like they just stepped out of a fairytale storybook 24/7." Clary pointed out motioning to Isabelle's extravagant dress.

"Well maybe you should, after all, Jace will be there." Isabelle nudged Clary with her elbow and grinned suggestively.

"Even more reason to dress _down,_ " Clary said grabbing her phone off her dresser. "Plus I'm not about to walk around in this stupid boot with a fifty-pound dress," Clary said gesturing to her foot.

Isabelle scoffed as she followed Clary around. "Oh come on, you two are looking at each other with these stupid googly eyes all the time. Anyone would be blind not to see you like him."

Clary stopped abruptly and turned to her friend. "Jace is the most annoyingly ignorant jerk I've ever met with an ego the size of Jupiter, although according to him it may have grown."

Clary turned back around and continued walking only to have Isabelle continue following her.

"You say that now but give it time, Jace can actually be a pretty good guy," Isabelle said as they left Clary's room.

"You have to say that though, you're practically family." Clary pointed out.

"And you are my best friend, why would I ever lie to my best friend?" Isabelle rebutted.

"I don't know, why did Han Solo's son kill him?" Clary said and Isabelle looked at her curiously.

"Who?" She asked and Clary shook her head.

"Do you guys not have cable or movies here? Jesus Christ." Clary said as they walked down the stairs.

"Clary, off topic," Isabelle said before continuing her rant. "At this dinner, you'll get to see all the nobility again. I mean we're going to be sitting at one really long table and you won't be able to talk to over half of them but they'll still be there. Anyway, this is a great opportunity to observe what Jace is like around his parents. Aka, scared shitless."

Clary raised her eyebrows and grinned. "Jace is scared of his parents?"

Isabelle nodded. "Big time, I don't know why though. They seem nice enough but who knows."

Clary laughed as they rounded a corner to go to the grand hall.

"Isabelle." Alec appeared in front of them and Clary didn't know why but he looked worried, almost fearfully. "Hi, Clary. Umm, some of the nobles have already arrived, your parents have been asking for you."

"Okay..." Clary said suspiciously. "I guess I'll see you guys in there."

Clary began to walk forward but Alec seemed to second guess himself. He bit his knuckle before stopping Clary.

"Actually we'll just come in with you, come on." Alec waited for Clary to start walking forward and when she did he followed her strangely closely, almost like he was trying to... protect her.

When they entered the grand hall they were greeted by probably a hundred people. The table would clearly sit a lot more than that. Clary was ushered up to the head of the table where her parents were standing.

"Ah, Clarissa," Valentine greeted her. "Just in time, you'll be sitting between your mother and me at the very head of the table."

"Oh, okay," Clary said awkwardly as she was placed in the middle of the three seats at the top.

Clary recognized the people that were around her. Hodge sat at the seat nearest where Valentine would be sitting with the Herondale family next to him. Luke and a woman Clary didn't know sat nearest Jocelyn with the Lightwoods next to them.

Clary looked around and took a deep breath until her eyes landed on Isabelle. The girl was watching as Alec walked away and Clary followed her gaze to see Jace waiting for him near the end of the table. Isabelle turned to look at Clary and the girls caught each other's gaze. What Clary saw in Izzy's eyes was that she had no idea what was going on.

* * *

JACE'S POV

Jace leaned against the wall tapping his foot as Alec approached him. The boy's face clearly showed his worry and Jace knew he needed to calm down.

"I don't like this," Alec said as he approached Jace.

"I know, I don't either," Jace said and looked over Alec's shoulder to see Isabelle. She was watching them with narrowed eyes. "But we need to remain calm right now."

"Do you really think it's that easy?" Alec raised an eyebrow. "My dad and your parents told us _something_ was going to happen tonight, it's not hard to guess that that something is bad."

Jace knew he was right. The Circle was planning something and they didn't know what it was. All they knew was that the royal family was in danger.

"We can't do anything though. For one our parents would kill us if they found out and two we would be giving away the fact that they're part of The Circle which would not only mean we would all be thrown in jail but once again we would also die." Jace said simply and Alec sighed.

"We need to keep an eye on Clary tonight," Alec said and Jace nodded in agreement. "But we should also probably talk to her as little as possible. So keep your distance but don't let her out of your sight." Alec continued as he fidgeted with his own hand.

"Yeah..." Jace looked over at the head of the table where Clary sat. She seemed nervous as she looked around at the people surrounding her. "Sounds like a plan."

It was almost four hours into the dinner and not a thing had happened. Jace was beginning to wonder if The Circle actually was planning something. It wasn't exactly like them to be very discreet.

Jace looked over at Alec and raised an eyebrow. Alec just shrugged in response and turned his attention back to Clary. When Jace did the same he saw that the princess was in deep conversation with Lucian Graymark.

After a moment Clary caught Jace's eye. She smiled politely and Jace looked away almost immediately. He looked around the table for a while until Valentine stood up.

"This year's dinner is very special because we finally have our daughter back." Valentine started to say and the whole room went quiet. "It's even more so because she's 18 and that means she drinks from the ceremonial cup."

Valentine was handed a large cup by Hodge. He filled it with wine before setting it down in front of Clary. She looked down at it curiously.

"Every year when the heir to the throne turns 18 they drink from this cup. Now it's your turn." Jocelyn said and squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

It was only when Jace saw the grinning faces of his parents that he realized what The Circle was doing. He looked over at Alec who seemed to have the same idea. Alec's eyes were wide with panic and he made a small motion asking what they should do.

Jace looked around in a blind panic as Clary began to lift the cup. Finally, he picked up a roll and threw it under the table so that it passed through to the other side. Quickly Jace stood up and pointed at the roll.

"Rat!" He yelled and the whole room was thrown into chaos. Nobody even stopped to look at the 'rat' as they ran from the room.

Jace caught Alec's eye. He shook his head but was seemingly trying to hold back a laugh. Jace shrugged and looked around again at the fleeing nobles. Who said the nobility have more dignity than commoners?

* * *

CLARY'S POV

After the disaster of a dinner, Clary went up to her room. She couldn't believe what Jace did. The whole night had been going great and Clary actually thought it would be cool to be a part of such an old tradition but of course, Jace Herondale had to ruin everything by screaming rat.

Clary shook her head as she changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She plopped down on her bed and ran her hands through her hair as someone knocked on her door.

"Come in," Clary called out but immediately regretted it when Jace walked in.

"What do you want?" Clary asked sharply and just as Jace was about to reply she cut him off. "You know what, I don't even care. I truly don't care because I don't care about you. I mean jeez, what kind of person does that? A rat, really? That was a bread roll, Herondale. I cannot believe you. Forget arrogance you're just a straight-up jackass."

Jace stood in silence as Clary ranted. He closed the door behind him so that nobody would hear her screaming at him but still stood across the room next to the door.

"You know sometimes you can be really sweet and funny and great," Clary continued as paced back and forth in front of her bed. "And I forget that you're a dick. Then you go and you do something like this and I can't help but wonder why. Why? What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?"

At that Clary seemed to strike a nerve. Jace didn't look angry though just utterly shocked.

"Hate you?" Jace repeated and crossed the room to Clary. "How could you possibly think that I hate you. You have no idea how much I want to- How I wish that I could-" Jace stumbled at what he was trying to say but Clary understood it well enough.

She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Jace's. Clary was so surprised by herself that almost immediately she back away. Jace didn't waste a moment in reacting though when he cupped Clary's face in his hands and smashed his lips against hers.

Clary stood on her toes again and wrapped her arms around Jace's neck. She ran her fingers through his golden curls as the kiss became hungrier. As Jace's tongue explored Clary's mouth he pressed her against the wall.

Just as Jace's hands found the hem of Clary's shirt there was a knock at the door. Clary pushed Jace off of her so hard that he fell behind the couch.

"Clary?" Isabelle's voice sounded. Clary whirled around to her bookshelf just as the door began to open.

"Hey Isabelle," Clary said trying to keep her voice from sounding strained. Clary replaced the book that she had only half gotten off the shelf as Isabelle walked over to her. Quickly Clary met Isabelle halfway through the room and Isabelle narrowed her eyes.

"You look flush, are you alright?" Isabelle asked putting the back of her hand to Clary's forehead.

"Yeah, just from the excitement from the dinner and everything," Clary said awkwardly and Isabelle nodded her head slowly.

"Right, well come on we're going to meet up with Simon," Isabelle responded still looking suspicious.

Clary glanced back at the couch and bit her lip. "Okay... let's go."

Clary followed Isabelle out of her room reluctantly. After she closed the door behind her Isabelle turned to Clary with a smile.

"You know if you have a guy in there you can tell me," Isabelle said jokingly and Clary rolled her eyes despite the fact that her heart was beating a million times per minute.

"Shut up."

 **And there is y'all's Clace. For now at least...  
BUT I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review and I'll try to update soon.**


	13. Relationships and Secrets

The next morning Clary woke up with a groan. As she began to remember the incidents from the night before she bolted up in her bed.

"Oh my God... Oh my God. Oh my God!" Each time she spoke Clary's tone changed. She rolled out of bed quickly and got dressed.

As she was pulling on a shoe there was a knock at her door and Isabelle walked in. Clary jumped a couple times as she yanked at her shoe and fell backward with a yelp. Isabelle chuckled.

"I see you're finally awake," Isabelle said and sat on the edge of Clary's bed as she sat up on the floor.

"What do you mean? It's only- ONE PM?" Clary yelled checking the clock. "Why did no one wake me sooner?"

Isabelle shrugged. "Simon wanted to but I figured you had a pretty tiring day. What with that secret boy in your room and all."

Clary rolled her eyes. "I told you there was no boy in my room last night." She stood up with her shoes finally on and sat next to Isabelle.

"The key word there is 'was'," Isabelle said thoughtfully and then grinning at Clary devilishly. "Meaning he could still be in here."

Isabelle stood up and started looking around Clary's room. Clary just shook her head and watched her delusional friend.

"You're wasting your time, Iz," Clary called out to her raven-haired friend's butt and she looked under the bed. "There is nobody here and there never was."

Isabelle stood up with a huff and glared at Clary. "Fine, I believe you. Now come on downstairs and we'll have lunch."

Clary groaned as she followed Isabelle out of her room. "I can't believe I missed breakfast."

"I can't believe you slept for over 13 hours." Isabelle shook her head.

"I can't believe that you're peppy 24/7. Seriously be angry every now and then, or at least neutral." Clary scoffed and Isabelle laughed.

"Maybe you should try being more like me," Isabelle shrugged. "You're too serious all the time."

"Well, if I had your looks and personality then I think I'd have more of a reason to be happy all the time." Clary joked.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Please, if I looked like you I'd still be pretty damn happy."

Clary laughed at Isabelle as they reached the bottom of the stairs. She noticed that Jace was standing by the front door talking with someone and a small smile broke out on her face.

"Hey Iz, I'll meet up with you later. I have to do something first." Clary said to Isabelle.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit," Isabelle replied. Clary watched as the girl walked away before heading over to Jace.

When she was just a few feet away Jace noticed her. He said something to the man he was talking to and he left.

"Hey, can we talk?" Clary asked quietly.

"What about?" Jace replied and Clary noticed he was avoiding looking her in the eye.

"What do you mean 'what about'?" Clary scoffed. "About what happened last night."

"There's nothing to talk about," Jace replied and Clary felt like she had been slapped in the face.

"You mean other than that kiss?" Clary asked and Jace finally looked at her, his face was totally emotionless if not a little angry.

"What happened last night was a mistake. It'd be best for everyone if we both just forgot about it." He spoke harshly and Clary took a step back.

"Are you serious?" Clary whispered and Jace looked away from her again. "Fine, I'll forget about it. Just do me a favor and never talk to me again."

Clary stormed out of the castle without letting Jace say anything back. She fought back tears as she walked the streets of Alicante. She walked with determination to the one place she knew she could go to at that moment.

* * *

"You can't just do that to a person! I mean to be a total ass and then kiss them and then be an ass again? "God, I don't know what would have happened if Isabelle hadn't walked in but man am I glad she did!" Clary yelled as she paced back and forth. "I deserve better than him, any girl deserves better than him."

Clary continued to pace in front of Magnus Bane as she spewed out all her problems. For the first ten minutes after she got there she just balled her eyes out, but for the past half hour she had been ranting and Magnus had sat silently through it all.

"Yes, you do," Magnus said. "But if you don't mind me asking, who are you talking about right now?"

Clary stopped her pacing to realize she had never actually told Magnus who she kissed. She had just begun ranting about him endlessly.

"Jace," Clary said calmly and Magnus rolled his eyes.

"Oh, then I can completely sympathize. I've been dating this noble but he refuses to actually tell anyone about us." Magnus said and Clary sat down next to him.

"Who?" She asked and Magnus smiled.

"Alec..." He answered and Clary smiled despite her own problems.

"Ooh, Magnus you dog." Clary nudged him with her elbow.

"You know it's been great and all but I just wish he would be more open to his family." Magnus sighed and Clary put her arm around him.

"I'm sorry," She said. "I guess we both deserve better."

Magnus nodded. "Well, I actually think I know why Jace is acting like this."

Clary sat back and looked at Magnus curiously. "Oh? Pray tell."

"I'm not exactly at liberty to say," Magnus said and Clary narrowed her eyes. "You're parents told you about the Circle right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm assuming they didn't tell you about this other group called the Downworlders," Magnus said and Clary cocked her head. "The Downworlders is an organization that's been around for before the Circle was even an idea. We're a peaceful group of mostly commoners that the royal family has always known about. They haven't done anything about us simply because they have no reason to. During the war, we helped fight against the Circle. Now that it's over we still have our own secrets... as does the Circle."

"What do you mean?" Clary asked. "My parents told me the Circle doesn't exist anymore."

Magnus grimaced a little. "That's what they want them to believe, but it's still there with many members that are close to the king and queen themselves. For a few months before you arrived, I was sent out on a mission by the Downworlders to spy on Circle members. What I found is that they have even more secrets than we do."

"Why haven't you guys told my parents about all of this?" Clary asked.

"We want to find out who their leader is before we doing anything." Magnus put a hand on Clary's shoulder. "But trust me when I tell you that we're the good guys."

"I believe you," Clary said and looked down at the floor. "But what does any of that have to do with Jace?"

"I'm just saying," Magnus said and Clary looked back up. "He might have more secrets than you expect."

* * *

Later that evening Clary was sitting with her mother. It had been a quiet day after Clary left Magnus' house. She hadn't seen Jace the rest of the day, not to mention Simon or Isabelle either.

Now though she relaxed on the couch. She stared down at her phone. She wanted to call Camille, to tell her about everything that happened, but Clary knew she couldn't go to her with every crisis that happens. She looked up at her actual mom. Why did it feel so different talking to Camille than it did talking to Jocelyn?

"You okay?" Jocelyn suddenly said looking up. She closed the book she was reading.

"Yeah, why?" Clary asked but she knew her voice sounded strained.

"It's just that you've been staring at your phone for the past hour, I don't think that's a very good sign that one is happy," Jocelyn said and Clary asked.

"It's just... boy troubles," Clary said. Jocelyn turned to Clary was sudden interest.

"You wanna talk about it? You don't even have to tell me his name, just rant." Jocelyn said and Clary laughed.

"Umm okay. So there's this guy," Clary started.

Jocelyn nodded. "Right, Jace. Continue."

Clary's mouth fell open. "I thought you said no names?"

Jocelyn raised her eyebrow. "Honey I'd be blind not to know it was Jace. Come on, you can tell me."

"Okay," Clary continued with a laugh. "Well, the other night he sort of... kissed me," Clary said and Jocelyn's eyes widened but she stayed quiet. "And then today, he told me that last night was a mistake and we should forget about it."

"No," Jocelyn's mouth gaped. "He did not."

Clary nodded. "Yeah, I don't even know why I'm surprised though. It is Jace after all."

Jocelyn laughed and opened her mouth the respond but was cut off when Hodge suddenly ran in the room. He looked almost scared.

"My queen, I need to speak with you urgently," Hodge said. Jocelyn stood up with worry in her eyes but before Hodge could get out another word Valentine casually walked in behind him.

"Hodge, there you are. Come, I must speak with you at once." Valentine said and Hodge tensed up but obliged.

"I suppose it can wait," Hodge spoke emotionlessly and then turned and left the room.

Valentine took a step forward and kissed Jocelyn on the cheek. "Hello my darling, Clarissa. I must go but I'll see you both at dinner."

With that Valentine followed Hodge out of the room. Jocelyn sat back down but her eyebrows were furrowed.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Clary said and Jocelyn shook her head.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling."

 **Aaaaaannnd no more Clace. Sorry! But what do you guys think Hodge had to so urgently tell the queen? And what will happen if/when the Downworlsers find the leader of the Circle? So much drama!  
I hope y'all liked this chapter though, please review, and as always I'll try to update soon!**


	14. Parties and Guards

**Why do I frequently update in the middle of the night, you ask? That is a fantastic question, why don't we ask my messed up sleeping schedule...**

"How is it that you got a higher score on your test than I did when I was actually taking the class?" Simon sounded dumbfounded as he stared down at the paper he had just graded. "You didn't even grow up here."

"I'm a very intelligent specimen." Clary joked and Simon raised his eyebrows as he continued to look down at the test Clary had just taken.

"I can tell." Simon shook his head but laughed. "Well, it looks like we have two hours of free time since you finished so quickly."

Clary stood up and Simon followed her lead. They had been in the study and were now roaming the halls of the castle.

"What to do, what to do?" Clary said thoughtfully and Simon's eyes widened as he recognized the tone of voice she had.

"Clary, whatever you're planning- No," Simon said sternly causing Clary to break out into a wide smile.

"You don't even know what I'm thinking," Clary said and Simon shook his head.

"I don't need to because knowing you it's either going to be illegal, painful or make Jace pissed off." Clary rolled her eyes at her friend.

"If I manage to piss Jace off then it's been a good day," Clary said her voice suddenly full of poison.

It had been about a week since the last time Clary had spoken to the golden-boy and she still hated him with every fiber of her being. At least that's what Clary tried to convince herself of. Because no matter how hard she tried she couldn't deny that every time she saw him her heart fluttered a little.

Simon shook his head. "What has been up with your hostility towards Jace lately? I know the guy can be an arrogant jerk at times but this is like worse than hate."

Clary opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it again. She hadn't told Isabelle or Simon about the kiss between her and Jace. After everything that Magnus had said she decided to let it all go, she would still never talk to him again but she didn't want to cause more unnecessary drama.

"Sometimes hatred and loathing simply isn't enough to describe how I feel about Jace," Clary said. "Sometimes I think the only way to _truly_ express my feelings for him is to drive a dagger straight through his heart."

Clary looked up at Simon and they both laughed. She thought that she had managed to convince both of her friends that she simply disliked Jace, that it was really nothing more. She hadn't run into him in the past week anyway so it was much easier to hide her boiling hatred.

But her luck ended in that moment.

As Clary and Simon were walking down one of the many never-ending hallways of the castle they heard footsteps. Clary looked up to be met with the amber eyes of Jace. They both froze for a split second. Jace opened his mouth to speak but Clary continued walking and pushed past him. Simon ran after her.

"Okay, _that_ was definitely something. What the hell are you not telling me, Fairchild?" Simon asked as Clary continued speedwalking, she didn't dare look behind her to see if Jace was still standing there.

"Nothing, okay. It's..." Clary looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. When she looked back down at Simon there was worry present in his eyes. "Sometimes I wish I had never come to Idris and that I had never met that self-entitled bastard." Clary spat out.

Simon pulled Clary into a close hug and stroked her fiery red hair. She hugged him back tightly and pressed her face into Simon's shirt. Her eyes closed tightly as Simon looked down the hallway to where Jace still stood. He looked back at Simon with sadness his eyes.

 _What happened?_ Simon mouthed and despite Jace being so far away from them at this point he knew the boy could read his lips. All Jace did in response though was shake his head and continue walking away.

Simon glared at the son of two circle members until Clary pulled away from him. Her eyes weren't red indicating that she hadn't cried but she still looked sad.

"Thanks, Simon, I needed someone to hug," Clary said and Simon smiled down at her as they continued walking.

"Of course, now are you going to tell me what happened though?" Clary looked up at Simon and laughed before sighing and launching into the full story.

* * *

"Clary, I'm bored." Isabelle complained. She was laying on the couch in Clary's room with one of her legs propped up on the back of it. "Claarrryyy I'm boooorrrreedd." The girl kept repeating the same statement, each time her groan growing longer.

"I know Izzy, I heard you the first hundred times," Clary replied. She was sitting on her bed next to Simon.

Isabelle lifted her head ever so slightly to glare at Clary. "Then why am I still bored?"

Clary shrugged. "Because I don't know what you want me to do about it. Simon already shot down my idea to TP some shops in the city."

"Illegal," Simon said from beside her.

"And to try to swim with the piranhas in the lake outside the city." Clary continued.

"Painful."

"And to sneak out to Magnus' party tonight."

"Piss Jace off," Simon said and mockingly smiled. "Oh look, that's everything I said you would come up with."

Clary rolled her eyes. "How do you even know he would find out?"

"He's Jace," Simon said and Clary crossed her arms. "He knows everything."

"Simon's got a point," Isabelle called out from the couch. "But so does Clary. I vote we go Magnus' party."

Clary checked her watch to see it was already 7 pm. "Cool, it starts in like an hour."

Isabelle finally sat up. "Great, then we leave in two hours."

"Why two?" Simon asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because, my dear Simon, no one actually gets to a party when it starts. You show up at least an hour late, everyone knows that." Isabelle replied and Simon shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, I've never actually been to a party." At that Isabelle's mouth gaped but Clary spoke up before she could out a word.

"Yeah, me neither. I wasn't exactly popular in America." Isabelle's fell open wider and then it abruptly closed as she put her face in her hands.

"I have a lot of work to do."

* * *

Three hours later Isabelle decided that they were ready to go to Magnus' party. She had spent those three hours teaching Clary and Simon the proper way to act a party and then getting them dressed. Simon obviously dressed elsewhere and by himself but Isabelle chose exactly everything for Clary to put on.

She ended up wearing a short black dress with one black boot since she still had her cast on her broken ankle. Isabelle had put makeup on Clary much to her dismay but Clary decided she didn't completely hate it. The raven haired girl had finally accepted the fact that Clary didn't wear a lot of makeup and had kept it to the bare minimum.

Isabelle wore a flowing, short red dress with matching heels. Clary grinned as she realized their dresses matched the opposite girls' hair.

Just as they were about to leave and get Simon, Isabelle stopped Clary.

"One last thing," Isabelle picked up a lone hood and clipped it onto the back of the dress. She flipped Clary's hair forward and pulled the black hood up so it covered half her face. "It wouldn't exactly be good if anyone recognized you."

Clary pushed the hood back slightly so she could see. "And you thought this would be better than a simple mask or sunglasses?"

"Yeah," Isabelle said as if it were obvious. "A mask seems to masqueradish and do you really want to be seen wearing sunglasses at night?"

Clary opened her mouth to respond but shrugged when she realized Isabelle was right.

"Alright, let's go," Clary said and they left her room.

It wasn't too hard for them to sneak out and Clary found she was surprised by the fact that that didn't surprise her. The security in the castle always seemed shockingly lack but Clary supposed that was a good thing in this instance and decided not to question it.

After just a few minutes the three arrived at Magnus' house. The place was a lot bigger than Clary had been expecting but even still there were people out in the yard, not just in the house.

"Magnus Bane throws the best parties in Alicante," Isabelle said loudly over the sound of blaring music as they neared the house.

"I would never have guessed," Clary yelled back sarcastically.

When they entered the house Clary was hit by the overwhelming smell of liquor. She had to pause for a moment before continuing when it hit her. But soon she had already gotten used to it and was following Isabelle and Simon around.

"See," Clary spoke in Simon's ear. "I told you this would be fun."

"Just wait," Simon grinned back at her. "Something will go wrong. It always does."

Clary rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face. She bounced along to the beat of the music as they headed towards the back of the house. Isabelle squealed when she spotted Magnus.

"Magnus!" Isabelle called out over the music and impossibly he heard her. He walked over with a large smile beaming on his face.

"Isabelle! Simon! And-" Magnus paused for a moment as Clary brought her hood down a bit. Magnus' grin faltered as his eyes widened. "Biscuit? You shouldn't be here. Your parents will be very mad."

Clary nodded her head in agreement as she pulled the hood down a bit. "Which is exactly why no one can know I'm here."

"Come on Magnus," Isabelle said. "Let the girl have a little fun."

Magnus sighed. "Fine, I won't say anything. But I can't promise the same for those two." Magnus nodded his head to motion to behind them.

All three turned around to see that Alec and Jace had just entered the house. Clary spun back around and pulled her hood down farther over her face.

"Seriously? I didn't think they would be here. Alec doesn't exactly like the partying type and Jace is... well Jace." Clary said and Magnus shrugged.

"Well, I seemed to have a bit of influence over their decision to come." Magnus bit his lip as he looked back at them. "I can distract Alec for you but you're on your own with Goldie locks."

With that Magnus walked away towards the front of the house. Simon looked over at Clary worriedly as he remembered what she had told him earlier, Clary ignored him though as she watched Magnus approach the young nobles. He immediately struck up a conversation with Alec while Jace, on the other hand, looked mildly bored. He looked around and almost caught Clary's eye but she looked away just in time.

"Crap he saw me," Isabelle said. "He's coming over here. Simon walk away with Clary." Isabelle instructed just as Jace reached them. Clary and Simon quickly turned and walked away but stayed just barely within earshot.

"Hey Iz, I didn't expect to see you here," Jace said suspiciously.

"I could say the same about you," Isabelle replied easily. Jace rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Clary and Simon.

"Who's Simon with?" He asked and Simon sighed at the fact that he didn't recognize her but Clary wasn't so convinced. There was something about his voice...

"One of his friends," Isabelle replied. "Maia."

"Really?" Jace raised an eyebrow. "Ratface has friends?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Of course he has friends. I'm his friend, for one."

"That doesn't count though," Jace said. "You have befriended a literal rat before, you will be friends with anything."

Simon furrowed his eyebrows as he listened and Clary stifled back a laugh.

Isabelle thought for a moment. "Clary's his friend and I mean she must have pretty good taste in friends considering that she hates you."

Jace seemed to almost laugh. "Speaking of Clary." He didn't turn around as he took a few steps back to where Clary and Simon were standing and yanked Clary's hood off her head. She cursed as Jace looked around at the three. "Did you guys think I'm that stupid?"

"Yes." "No." Both Clary and Simon answered at the same time and Clary glared at her spineless friend for his answer.

Jace shook his head. "Clary you aren't supposed to be out this late, especially without a guard."

Clary rolled her eyes. "It's just a party. I mean what's the worst that could happen?"

"You'd be surprised," Jace said and took her arm. "Come on I'm taking you back home."

Clary looked back at Isabelle and Simon as she was pulled out. The two followed after quickly.

"'Let's go out to Magnus' party Simon. Nobody will find out, what could possibly go wrong?'" Simon said mockingly under his breath and Clary grinned. "Something, something _always_ goes wrong. Oh but nobody listens to Simon..."

"Simon," Jace said from in front of him. "Shut up."

Isabelle shook her head as Jace continued to pull Clary through the streets of Alicante. "Come on Jace, we just wanted to have a little fun. I haven't been to a party in forever... and apparently, neither has Clary or Simon." Isabelle added the last part under her breath earning her a glare from Clary.

Jace stopped walking and looked back at Isabelle. He loosened his grip on Clary and she was able to yank her arm away, he made no move to grab her again.

"Isabelle I am just trying to do my job, you have a problem with it you can bring it up the king and queen. But I'm not about to let Clary stay at a _Magnus Bane_ party without permission because I'm assuming you all snuck out." Jace said it as a statement but looked around for confirmation.

The three all nodded their heads and Jace shrugged as if that proved his whole statement. He made a move to start walking but Isabelle stopped him again.

"Okay but Jace if you and Alec just stayed at the party with us then Clary would have two great guards and it would all be fine." Isabelle grinned hopefully.

Jace acted as if he was thinking about it before he glared at Isabelle. "No."

"Ugh," Isabelle groaned. "Why not?"

"It's already midnight." Jace pointed out. "This is when the crazies are out."

"But you're out right now." Clary pointed out.

"That just proves my point, if people like me are out then it really _is_ dangerous for you," Jace said and Clary her eyebrows. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Clary scoffed. "Trust me, Jace, there is no one like you."

Jace smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."

"It wasn't meant as one though," Clary said glaring at him and Jace just shrugged.

"Yeah but I'm taking it as one. Now, seriously. Home." Jace pointed towards the castle that stood not too far in the distance. Clary was fed up with him at this point and could hardly control herself from going off right there.

"You know what?" Clary said taking a step forward. "You can't tell me what to do. You have no control over me. I'm _your_ princess, I'm the one that gets to tell _you_ what to do, not the other way around. So I'm going to Magnus Bane's party whether you like it or not. I'll deal with the consequences of the people who actually get a say over what I do later."

"Really?" Jace asked almost angrily. He took a step forward and was only a foot away from Clary.

"Yeah, really." Clary spat back.

Jace took another step forward. "You _really_ believe that?"

"No, I know... it." Clary gulped as Jace looked down at her. He stared into her eyes so intently and Clary couldn't find the courage to speak again.

"Do you now?" Jace spoke quietly but his voice was still filled with an odd rage. "Fine, then go back to the party," Jace said after a long moment of silence. He took a step back and Clary's eyes widened.

"What?" Isabelle asked and Jace looked around to the three.

"If the princess is so sure of herself then fine, maybe she's right, maybe I don't have any control over what she does." Jace's eyes landed back on Clary. "So go back to the party."

Clary didn't know how and she didn't know why but she suddenly didn't want to go back. Something about the fact that Jace was giving her permission made Clary want to go back home and curl up in her bed.

 _This is what he wants,_ Clary thought. _It's reverse psychology, don't give in._

"Good," Clary said and turned around to Isabelle and Simon. Before anything could happen she started walking back to Magnus' house. Her heart beating out of her chest as she felt Jace's gaze on her.

 **So I think this chapter was just to show Clary and Jace's relationship now. Obviously, the two still have feelings for each other but will Jace ever give into his emotions again? And if he does what will the consequences be?  
Please review and I hope y'all liked this chapter!**


	15. Hangovers and Murderers

**So first I just want to say how much I appreaciate everyone that has followed, favorited, or reviewed my story. Really anyone that's read the story in general. Y'all mean the world to me and you always make my day. Thank you so much!**

Clary's first thought when she woke up was _Ow._

She sat up and rubbed her head as a pounding headache overtook her. Clary rubbed her temple as Isabelle entered the room without knocking. When Clary looked up at the girl she groaned.

"Remind me to never drink again," Clary said as her best friend sat on the edge of her bed. "What time is it?"

"It's actually only 7, I wasn't expecting you to be awake yet," Isabelle said and Clary glared up at her accusingly.

"Then why are you in my room?" Clary asked.

Isabelle snapped her fingers behind her before asking. "Because of this." She didn't even look behind herself as Clary watched a maid walk in with a tray full of what she usually would have found to be delicious food but now just wanted to make her throw up.

"Oh my god get that away from me," Clary said and Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"By the Angel, it may smell atrocious now but trust me a bit of this and you'll start feeling better in minutes." Isabelle waved a plate of bacon under Clary's nose and she decided that one piece wouldn't hurt.

Just as Clary lifted the first piece of bacon to her mouth she paused and looked up Isabelle suspiciously. "You didn't make this, did you?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't. Now eat and take this." Izzy held up an advil.

Clary grinned at her friend before stuffing her mouth. About halfway through her meal Clary realized she didn't actually remember much of the night before.

"So what happened last night anyway?" Clary almost immediately regretted the question when Isabelle's face lit up with a devilish smile.

"You," She said with too much enthusiasm. "Are such a fun drunk."

"Oh no," Clary groaned before Isabelle launched into the story of the party.

"Well first you jumped off Magnus' balcony into his pool," Isabelle started. "But that's hardly the best part. After a while, you thought you had magical powers and tried talking to a duck."

Clary slammed her head back into her pillows. "You know I'm kind of glad I don't remember any of that."

"Oh don't worry, I got it all on video," Isabelle said and Clary could hear her smiling even as she buried face further into her pillow. "But I'm still not done yet."

Clary sat back up and crossed her legs as she waited for Isabelle to tell her the rest.

"Well, towards the end of the night," Isabelle started laughing and was trying her best to contain it. But what puzzled Clary the most was that it was a happy laugh, Isabelle was giddy for some reason. "You may have sort of confessed your love for Jace."

Clary's mouth gaped. "To him?" She practically screamed.

Isabelle shook her head, now she was actually laughing. "He left after the duck incident. No, it's worse."

"Who could I have told I love Jace that's worse than telling the man in question himself?" Clary asked. Isabelle was almost laughing uncontrollably and had to wait a bit before answering her.

"You told..." Isabelle put her hand over her mouth to try to contain her giggles. "Alec."

When she finally said it she burst out laughing and actually fell off Clary's bed. Clary rolled her eyes as the girl stayed on the floor to finish her fit.

"You're telling me that I told Alec that I love Jace?" Clary asked just for clarification.

Isabelle's head popped up over the edge of the bed and she shook her head. "No, you told Alec that you loved him. He was really uncomfortable during your entire speech and then you called him Jace and I just-" Isabelle fell backward again onto the floor and continued laughing. "I got it all on video too!"

Clary groaned and reached for a book to hit herself in the face with. When Isabelle finally managed to contain herself she yanked the book from Clary's hands and sat next to her, a wide smile still on her face.

"Jeez, how much did I have to drink?" Clary asked shaking her head at herself.

"That's the thing," Isabelle said turning to her. "You had like three drinks and you were totally blackout drunk. Who knew the princess was such a lightweight?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "So now half the kingdom knows I was an insane maniac last night. That's just the kind of publicity I need."

"Actually," Isabelle said. "I got some hair clips from Magnus to make sure your hood stayed on your head so I don't know how many people knew it was you. Plus your entire love confession with Alec was only in front of me, Magnus, and Simon. So I think you're good."

"Never thought I'd be saying this but I really wish I had listened to Jace when he told me to go home." Clary leaned back against her headboard.

"You and Jace are so oblivious to each other," Isabelle said and Clary rolled her head so she could look at her. "You obviously both love each other so just kiss already!"

Clary opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed in when she thought of what Jace said to her a week ago.

"Trust me, you're wrong," Clary said and Isabelle turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. "He does not love me."

Isabelle stared at Clary for a moment before sighing and hopping off her bed. She held out her hand to Clary and reluctantly the red head took.

"Come on, let's go for walk so you can re-forget all the night's events." She pulled Clary off her bed and the two left her room.

As they reached the foyer Clary saw Alec up ahead. She almost laughed as she thought of what Isabelle had told her. She hoped that Alec wasn't angry or upset with her, especially since she said all of that in front of Magnus.

"Oh look, Clary, it's your true love." Isabelle joked loudly so that Alec would here. He turned around and rolled his eyes when he saw them.

"Hey Alec, listen I am really sorry-" Clary started but Alec waved his hand at her to make her stop.

"It's no big deal, really. I mean it was pretty weird for like five minutes and then you said somebody else's name so..." Alec patted Clary on the back with a wink. "It's all good."

Clary opened her mouth to say something but closed it. Alec just laughed and walked away. Isabelle shrugged and the girls continued walking to the main doors. As they neared them though the doorbell rung. Clary and Isabelle looked at each other curiously.

"I don't think I've ever actually heard the doorbell before," Clary said. She just shrugged though and opened up the large door. On the other side was a delivery man with a skinny crate on a dolly. The crate was 6 feet tall.

"Hi, I have a package for the king and queen." The man said.

"I'm the princess so I guess I'll do it," Clary took the clipboard to sign for whatever it was.

The man walked over to the middle of the foyer before dumping the crate on the ground. He smiled to Clary and Isabelle before turning and leaving.

The girls walked up to the large crate curiously. All the sides were tightly pressed together, except that one of them had a handle like hole in it. Isabelle and Clary continued circling the thing before stopping in front of the side with the hole.

"Any idea what it is?" Isabelle asked and Clary shrugged.

"Nope, only one way to find out." Clary reached up and grabbed the hole. She yanked back and the wall fell off with strange ease.

Clary and Isabelle screamed as the package fell out of the crate. They jumped back to avoid being hit by the limp body that hit the ground.

"Oh My God!" Clary yelled. The person was face down so they couldn't see who it was.

It wasn't long before a large group of people responded to the screams of the two girls. The king and queen reached the scene first and eventually all the staff had surrounded them. Even Alec had reappeared, Clary watched as he took out his phone and called someone.

Valentine crept towards the body first. He grabbed the man's shoulder and flipped him over.

 _Hodge._ Clary's hands flung up to her face as she saw the open, lifeless eyes of her father's advisor. He had no cuts, no bruises, and no sign of struggle against whoever had killed him present on his body.

The doors of the castle were flung open and Jace came running in. Nobody else seemed to notice him though as their attention stayed on the dead body.

"Hodge, my dear friend," Valentine said as he brought two fingers down Hodge's face to close his eyes.

"Who could have done this?" Jocelyn asked as Valentine stood back up. A couple of the staff members rushed forward and picked up Hodge's body, they set him gently back into the crate and laid the crate onto it's back so he wouldn't fall out again.

"I don't know," Valentine said as he watched the crate be taken away. "But we will find them. This is an act of treason and whoever murdered Hodge will pay for what they've done."

Clary clutched Isabelle's wrist tightly as she watched everything. Her eyes were wide in fear and she could feel herself trembling slightly. Isabelle herself was frozen with fear.

"Isabelle," Alec said as he and Jace approached the traumatized girls. Alec put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

Jace wrapped his arms around Clary and pulled her into a comforting embrace. She allowed herself to bury her face in his shirt as he stroked her hair with one of his hands.

"Are you okay?" Jace asked so softly that only Clary could hear him. She slowly shook her head against his chest and he hugged her tighter. The warmth of his body was comforting and for a moment Clary forgot that she just saw a dead man fall at her feet.

 **I'm getting really excited for the upcoming events in this story... Who killed Hodge? Why did they kill Hodge? Was this planned by the Circle, and if so did Jace and Alec know about it?  
Hope y'all liked the chapter! **


	16. Movies and Truths

"Simon you weren't there, you don't understand, it was so creepy," Isabelle said as she plopped down on the couch next to the boy. She pulled her feet up under her and turned her full body to him. "I mean he just fell out towards us. It was horrific."

It was the afternoon after Hodge's dead body had been delivered to them. Isabelle was retelling the events to Simon as they sat in Clary's room.

After everybody had cleared the foyer Jocelyn and Valentine had made sure Clary and Isabelle were okay before assuring them that they would find whoever had killed Hodge. Since the girls were the ones to open the box first everyone was worried they were traumatized. Isabelle had managed to recover fairly quickly but Clary was still a little shaken.

That being said, Jace had been reluctant to leave her alone after things began to settle down. Alec had managed to get him away though by telling him something Clary couldn't hear. But as he and Alec left the castle Clary couldn't deny that she didn't want him to go.

Now, though she sat with her two best friends reliving it all. It didn't bother her so much to hear about it again, she just still hadn't fully gotten over the fact that a man died today. Someone that she had known. Someone who was very close to her parents.

"I'm not denying it was terrible. In fact, I haven't been able to get a word out for the past hour, you've been talking nonstop Iz." Simon said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," Isabelle said meekly. She blew some hair out of her face and then leaned back on the couch. "This is completely insane. Do you guys think it could've been the Circle? Like, what if they're back?"

At that Clary's head whipped up. Her eyes went wide as she remembered her conversation with Magnus. It was possible, the Circle could have done this. And if they did, Clary needed to tell her parents. She couldn't hide this for Magnus anymore, it was too big.

"Clare, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Simon said and Clary realized both of them were staring at her.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just, thinking about Hodge is all." Not entirely a lie.

Isabelle adjusted how she was sitting and placed her head on Simon's shoulder. "I'm too emotionally and physically exhausted to do anything today." She complained and Simon laughed in joy.

"Thank god, I was worried you were going to force us to go to another party." Isabelle glared up at Simon but made no remark.

"I agree," Clary said. "I'm tired. Why don't we just watch a couple movies and get a pizza?" Clary suggested and Simon smiled.

"That sounds perfect," Simon said but Isabelle pouted.

"I told Magnus I'd go shopping with him later," Isabelle said.

Clary shrugged. "Invite him over to watch the movies with us. The more the merrier."

Isabelle raised an eyebrow but smile. "You realize if I invite Magnus he's going to force Alec to come who's going to force Jace to come, right?"

Clary tried to hide her grimace and failed. "It's your choice I guess," Clary said solemnly. "Go out with Magnus or be the bane of my existence."

"That's my girl." Isabelle smiled and patted Clary on the leg. She got up and left the room to most likely find Magnus when Clary realized something.

"Wait, where are we watching the movies at?" She asked Simon.

"You do know the castle has a huge home movie theater right? Like was that not on the initial tour with Isabelle?" Simon cocked an eyebrow and Clary grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, right." Clary sighed as she thought of what the night was going to bring now that Jace would be coming along. Then she thought of something. "Simon why don't you invite your friends along, Jordan and Maia. That way it won't just be our little group."

Simon grimaced a little. "I don't know if I can trust Jace not to scare them off though. I don't have many friends so I'd prefer not to lose them."

"Please," Clary said with puppy dog eyes. "For me?"

Simon wiggled under gaze until he finally gave in. "Fine, I'll call them now. But I won't be happy about it."

* * *

JACE'S POV

"Alec no."

"Jace please."

"I already told you no. What more is it going to take?" Jace turned around to face his best friend.

"You have to, Magnus is forcing me to come with him and I'm not sure how long I can survive with Clary and Simon," Alec begged Jace found it strange to see him pleading.

"Clary won't be happy to see me there. In fact, I'm a little worried she might actually attempt to kill me." Jace replied. "If you haven't noticed I'm not exactly her favorite person."

"Jace you told me yourself that you don't want Clary by herself right now. She's in danger, someone just killed Hodge and they could easily go after Clary next." Alec pointed out.

"We don't know if it was the Circle," Jace said. "I mean Hodge was a loyal member and probably one of the few people who knew who the leader is. Why would they kill him?"

Alec shrugged. "The leader is insane. Who knows what he's capable of?" Jace sighed, still refusing to give in.

"You know what?" Jace said suddenly heading towards his father's study, Alec followed him curiously. "I'm going to find out if it was them. I'm sure there are documents about everyone the Circle has killed.

Alec grabbed Jace's arm to stop him just as they reached the study door. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Jace nodded. "Yeah, I'm sick of being kept in the dark. I mean, I don't even want to be a part of the Circle, but I have to be because of my parents. So, I might as well get to know a couple secrets."

"Fine," Alec said releasing Jace's arm. "But at least come with me to the castle tonight. Jace we both know that there's going to be a meeting with a lot of the nobility tonight. Both of our parents are going to be at the castle along with a lot of other Circle members. Don't you want to protect Clary?"

Jace glared at Alec. "I hate you, I hate you so much that you can't even begin to comprehend it."

"I know," Alec said with a large smile. "I know you do."

* * *

CLARY'S POV

"Clary meet Maia and Jordan, guys meet the princess." Simon introduced the three and Clary grinned like an idiot.

"Nice to meet you guys, I was beginning to think Simon made you up." Clary held out her hand and Maia laughed. Simon had brought them up to Clary's room since she had her phone on silent and wasn't answering him.

"I would've thought the same about you except for the fact that you've been on the news nonstop for the past like month," Maia replied.

Clary laughed and picked her sketchbook up off the table. She had been drawing before they came up. Maia stopped her though as she was putting it away.

"Did you draw this?" She asked pointing to the image Clary had been working on.

"Yeah, it's not finished yet though," Clary replied and Maia grinned up at her.

"This is really good. I love wolves." She said looking down at the drawing of a gray-brown wolf howling at the moon.

"Thanks," Clary set down her notebook and turned to the others. "Let's head downstairs, I'm sure Isabelle is back with Magnus and the... others," Clary said the last part with a strain in her voice earning her a look from Simon.

When they got to the theater Isabelle was in fact already there with Magnus. They had five entire pizzas sitting on a table and were talking when Clary walked in.

"Where are the others?" Clary asked hoping Magnus decided not to bring Alec along.

"They'll be here," Isabelle said with a taunting smile at Clary. "In the meantime do you mind introducing us?" She looked past Clary to Maia and Jordan.

"Oh yeah, this is Maia and Jordan," Simon said motioning to the two. "Guys, this is Isabelle and Magnus."

"Nice to meet you," Isabelle grinned as she held out her hand to them.

"You too," Jordan replied. "But we sort of already knew Magnus."

Simon raised an eyebrow to them and Magnus shrugged. "The Downworld has a lot of members."

"Oh, I didn't know you guys were part of the Downworlders," Simon said, he looked a little hurt they had kept something so big from him.

"It's not really something you bring up in casual conversation," Maia said with an apologetic smile.

Simon shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's alright."

Jace and Alec suddenly entered the room. Everyone turned to them as the door slammed shut behind them. Jace caught Clary's eye for a moment but she quickly rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Star Wars, we're watching Star Wars." Clary snapped as she plopped into one of the chairs and threw open the top of one of the pizza boxes.

Simon seemed happy by this response as he sat down next her. "Great, how many are we watching?"

Clary turned to Simon with a smile. "Yes." She answered and then hit the play button.

* * *

Halfway into the fourth movie in the Star Wars series, Clary quietly got up to stretch. She noticed that at some point Isabelle had fallen asleep on Simon's shoulder. Magnus and Alec were no longer paying any attention and even Simon was talking quietly with Maia and Jordan, careful not to disturb the sleeping Izzy.

"Hey," Jace said quietly and Clary jumped.

"You know I seem to recall a little while ago me telling you to never talk to me again," Clary replied harshly but Jace just rolled his eyes.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing after today. I mean it seems pretty insane that somebody would poison Hodge." Jace said. Clary was going to reply with a smart comment when something hit her.

"How did you know Hodge was poisoned?" Clary asked. This seemed to surprise Jace.

"I, umm, I read the autopsy report," Jace replied and Clary shook her head.

"That's locked up, nobody is allowed to read it. I wasn't even allowed to know." Clary narrowed her eyes at Jace as she began to piece some things together.

How strange Jace acts when his parents are around. All the secrets he has with Alec. And then there was Magnus. How had Clary not realized it before? Magnus hadn't been making an analogy about secrets, he had been saying that Jace's secret was the Circle.

"Who's the leader?" Clary asked quietly.

Jace shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." But Clary could see fear present in his eyes.

Clary had found out his secret and he couldn't hide it anymore.

"I can't keep this secret anymore," Clary said a little bit louder before sprinting towards the door. "MAGNUS I'M SORRY I'M TELLING THEM!" Clary yelled as she slammed the door shut behind her.

She ran as fast as she could to the room her parents were holding their meeting in. She could hear Jace's footsteps behind her but she didn't risk looking back over her shoulder as she pushed herself to run faster. When she reached the room Clary threw the door open with so much force it hit the wall hard.

Everybody in the room immediately looked up at Clary. Some people were even half out of their chair. Clary's parents stood up as she caught her breath.

"Clary don't-" Jace called from behind her, his footsteps suddenly stopping as he realized he was too late.

Clary looked back at Jace. He shook his head with wide eyes before looking past her to his parents with fear. That was when Clary was sure.

"The Circle still exists," Clary spoke loudly. All eyes were on her and Clary could hear the rest of her friends approaching the room.

Nobody said anything and Clary could feel the tension in the room. It was only when Magnus spoke that Clary looked behind her.

"Oh biscuit, you have no idea what you've just done."

 **DUN DUN DUN! And finally the truth is going to be revealed. What happens when the leader of the Circle is finally forced to step forward and Jace and Alec's lives are put on the line?  
Hope y'all liked the chapter! Love y'all!**


	17. Meetings and Treason

_"Oh biscuit, you have no idea what you've just done."_

The room stayed quiet after Magnus spoke. Even when he whispered it was so hushed that Clary hardly heard him. She looked around the room. There was a circular table in the middle that all the nobles were sitting at. On the wall behind the table were pictures and what seemed to be antiques in glass cases. In one there was even a little dagger.

Clary ignored all the eyes that stayed locked on her as she rushed to her parent's side. She looked up at them with fearful eyes, willing them to believe her.

"The Circle still exists," Clary repeated. "And half the people sitting at this table are a part of it."

At that Clary looked at the Herondales, the small look they shared just confirmed Clary's suspicions about Jace. That one look made Clary absolutely certain about her choice to barge in on the middle of their meeting.

"Clarissa, that is a very harsh accusation. What makes you think this?" Jocelyn asked concerned though she was eyeing some of her friends cautiously.

"I don't _think_ it, I _know_ ," Clary said. She was standing in between the king and queen and looking out towards her friends. Mainly Jace. "I... met some Downworlders recently. They told me that the Circle still has followers but they wouldn't tell either of you until they found the leader. I was forced to keep quiet but I don't care anymore!" Clary turned to her parents. "They killed Hodge, I just know it."

"What Downworlders did you meet?" Valentine asked. He didn't look as surprised as Jocelyn but he did seem a little mad. "We know many of the leaders and followers of that group but not all of them."

Clary's eyes flickered to Magnus, Maia, and Jordan. "I... can't tell you guys that. But trust me when I say the person is reliable."

"And why" Valentine continued, he was eyeing Clary's friends. "Do you think they killed Hodge?"

Clary didn't have a full answer to that. She suspected it may have been to send sort of message but truthfully she didn't know.

"Because he was going to tell the King and Queen who the leader is," Clary whirled around when Jace spoke. She saw his parents' heads whip up to him, they're eyes burning in anger. Jace looked shamefully to the floor to avoid their gaze. "I broke into your study..."

At that Jace's father stood up fully. Clary couldn't remember his name. Steve? Stan? Whatever, it didn't matter because now everyone knew what traitors they were.

"You did what?" The Herondale growled. Jocelyn looked at him with wide eyes at it became suddenly apparent to her that not only was Clary correct, but the Herondales were a part of it.

"Now, now," Valentine said strangely calmly. "It is not the time for punishments, Stephen, you can deal with your son later. For now, we have something else to deal with."

And before Clary knew it Valentine had broken the glass behind him and extracted the dagger Clary had seen earlier. He took his own daughter in his arms and held the sharp of the Blade to her throat. Clary heard Jocelyn gasp aloud as she took a startled step backward.

 _Well,_ Clary thought with an odd sense of tranquility wash over her. _This isn't how I expected things to turn out._

"I was truly hoping we would have more time to plan but I suppose there is no time like the present," Valentine said. Clary squirmed a little under his grasp and he tightened his hold on her.

"Clary!" Jace took a step forward causing Valentine to press down on the knife. A thin trickle of blood came from the cut and Jace stopped midstride.

"One more step and the princess is dead," Valentine said to Jace.

"You wouldn't kill your own daughter?" Jace asked with wide eyes though he took two steps back.

Valentine shrugged. "Of course I would, she has little use to me other than the fact that my blood runs through her veins. After all, I did kill my close friend and advisor."

"It's you?" Jocelyn breathed out. She took another step backward and bumped into Luke who put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You're the leader of the Circle?"

"It certainly took you long enough," Valentine rolled his eyes. "I have been the leader since before Clarissa was born. I have been patient, working from the inside for all these years. It was quite difficult hiding this whole thing from you, my dear Jocelyn. But alas, I knew you would never understand my view on things."

"Then help me understand them now," Jocelyn said sternly. She was staring at Clary, Valentine hadn't let up on the dagger and blood continued to trickle slowly down her neck. "Why are you doing this?"

"Things were much simpler centuries ago," Valentine jumped right into it. "Everyone knew where they stood in society, it was the royal family that ruled the country, the nobility that stood at their side, and the commoners who stayed in their little shacks of homes. But it was always all about blood. Who you came from determined you were. Now," Valentine scoffed and motioned to Clary's friends. "Now the heir to the throne befriends the lessers. The nobility has even gone as far as to allow their children to date and marry those of common ancestry. It disgusts me."

"This is insane!" Isabelle exclaimed. "Why does it even matter? These views are from when our great, great, great grandparents lived as children. Society has moved forward so much! And it's not like you can choose who you love. Hell, I'm in love with Simon, do you see me making a big deal about it?"

Simon choked on the air. "What?" He gasped out but Isabelle ignored him.

Valentine raised an eyebrow to the girl. As he turned to her his grip lessened slightly and Clary gasped out as the edge of the blade was moved away from her throat.

"Really? Is your father aware of that?" Valentine asked turning to Robert. The man silently shook his head but looked angry.

Clary couldn't believe it, were the Lightwoods a part of the Circle too? If so, Isabelle clearly didn't know.

"What- what does my father have to do with that?" Isabelle asked and Valentine motioned for Robert to stand up.

"Oh that's right, I forgot only one child knew about Robert's involvement in the Circle," Valentine smirked and Isabelle was taken aback.

"What?" Maryse asked. She stood up and stumbled backward towards Izzy. "Robert is this true? Alec?" She looked back and forth between the boys. Alec tried to open his mouth to explain but no words would come out. Magnus looked like he had been punched in the face.

"You know what?" Valentine called out happily. "Why don't we have everyone sitting at this table who is a part of the Circle stand up. You'll all be dead soon enough anyway, so it doesn't really matter if you know."

About 3/5ths of the people stood up. There were gasps all around as lifelong friends, husbands, wives, and siblings were suddenly betrayed. Jocelyn especially looked as if she was going to cry right there.

One of the men took a slight step forward and bowed to Valentine. "Sir, it's so great to finally meet the leader. I had no idea it was you, truly."

Valentine shrugged. "That was sort of the point. But why don't we get back to the matter at hand?" Valentine tightened his grip on Clary once again and turned to face everyone. "This is all quite the conundrum." Despite his words, Clary could hear the grin in Valentine's voice.

"Valentine, sir," Stephen said and Valentine looked over to him questioningly. "I recognize three of Clarissa's friends as Downworlders."

Magnus, Maia, and Jordan's eyebrows all shot up at the exact same time. Valentine looked over at them smugly, turning Clary as he turned himself.

"Contain them, bring them down to the old dungeons." At Valentine's words, Clary tried to struggle again. She grimaced as her friends were being hauled off and cried out in pain when Valentine removed the dagger from her neck and made a large slit on her arm. "It would be your best interest not to struggle, Clarissa." He whispered in her ear.

"Stop!" Jace yelled as Clary whimpered. "Stop hurting her!" He took half a step forward, not daring to edge closer in fear that Valentine would go through with killing her.

The king looked up at the young noble curiously. At this point, Jace stopped trying to pretend he didn't care about her. He couldn't pretend as he watched her own blood stain her arm and neck and her tears streak her face.

"Why?" Valentine asked and Clary would have been taken aback had she been able to move at all, or breath properly for that matter. But the question was so simple, it was one word. Yet the way he said it made it feel like he was asking a million.

Jace seemed a tad surprised by this too. He furrowed his eyebrows as he opened and closed his mouth. He had to be careful with what he said.

"She hasn't done anything to defy you," Jace finally said. "She hasn't done a thing against the Circle, granted she hasn't done anything _for_ them, but she still hasn't done anything bad. She doesn't deserve this." He was looking at Clary now, his golden eyes were wide and surprisingly vulnerable.

Valentine seemed to think about what he said. He paused as he continued to stare at the Herondale boy before greatly releasing his grip in Clary. He still had her trapped in his arm and held the knife in front of her, but she could take deep breaths now. She could speak now.

But she still said nothing. Clary glared back and forth from Jace to Alec. After a moment her gaze landed on where Isabelle and Simon stood a few feet away from them. Isabelle was watching her brother with terrified eyes and was clutching the arm of her mother. Simon was looking at Clary, he watched her nervously before looking over to Isabelle.

There was a silence and all Clary could hear was the pounding of her own heart. Then Valentine was saying something to his followers and Clary had to watch as the nobles who didn't follow the Circle were forcefully taken from the room. She watched with fear as Isabelle, Simon, and even her mother slipped from view out the door of the room. Then she was staring at Jace.

Detest. Abominate. Execrate. Abhor. Despise. Loathe... Any and all synonyms for hate ran through Clary's mind and she was sure that Jace could see it in her eyes.

"Well, Clarissa," Valentine was suddenly speaking to her. "Anything you'd like to say?"

Clary looked up at Valentine before returning her gaze to Jace. There was so much she wanted to say in that moment but only three words came to mind. So Clary stared straight into those amber eyes as they stared back into her green ones and she said them.

"I hate you."

Then everything went black.

 **Many of you have guessed it was Valentine so props to you for that. But I mean it was probably fairly obvious. Well, now the secret's out. Alec and Jace have betrayed the trust of not only their friends but their family too. Magnus may have been able to find the truth about the Herondales but he had never suspected the Lightwoods. Isabelle is in love with Simon, who the hell saw that coming? Everyone, actually... But now Clary may never trust Jace again... What will happen when the Circle takes over? Will Clary be able to get out of this? And what insane thing is Jace obviously going to do to fix it?  
Hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review and I'll update soon, per usual.**


	18. Betrayals and Dungeons

Clary woke up on a hard mattress. There was a warm blanket thrown over her carelessly and a soft pillow beneath her head. Yet when Clary looked around she was in a cell. It had three concrete walls with one barred side.

As Clary rubbed her head she felt a slight bump and suddenly remembered that Valentine had knocked her out. She groaned as the events of the day before came back to her. At least Clary thought it had only been one day. There were two small windows high up in Clary's cell but neither led outside so she had no idea what time it was or how long she had been asleep.

Just then Clary spotted a lump on the other side of the barred wall. Someone was sitting against the wall opposite of her little cell. Clary slowly got out of the bed she was in and inched forward to see who it was.

 _Jace._

Clary couldn't deny the butterflies she got when she thought of how long he must have been sitting there waiting for her to wake up. Clary fell to the ground when he suddenly looked up. His eyes widened when he saw that Clary was awake and he rushed forward to the bars. Clary backed away until she hit the wall opposite him.

"Clary!" Jace called out. His face lit up a little as he looked at her.

"Bastard!" Clary yelled back and Jace's face fell. "You ass, I can't believe I ever kissed you!" Clary felt around her for something to throw at him. Her hand found a group of small pebbles and she meekly threw it at him. Jace stepped back as the rocks pelted through the iron bars.

"Clary, I'm so s-" Jace started to say but Clary cut him off.

"I don't want your apologies. I want you out of my life forever." She spat out. "You betrayed your own country! Your friends! Me..."

Jace looked like he was in pain. His hands clung to the bars of her cell but Clary stayed where she sat wishing she hadn't just thrown all of the rock around her.

"Please, just let me explain-" Jace tried to speak again but Clary just shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What's there to explain? You're part of the Circle." Clary stated and Jace shook his head vigorously.

"It's more complicated than that."

"How? How could it be complicated, Jace? It's black and white. You're here or there and while I'm sitting over here you stand over there." Clary said and Jace's shoulders dropped. The usual glint of sarcasm and mischief in his eyes was gone. He seemed oddly small, like the time when Clary had seen him outside her window talking with his parents.

He was broken.

"Sometimes there's a smudge of gray between the black and white." Jace sighed but he didn't say anything else. He stared at the ground for a second longer before walking away. Clary let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and slumped down where she sat.

She began to run everything through her mind again. Everything from the first time Jace had spoken to her to the other night when he father almost killed her. Clary couldn't deny that there was one thing off about the whole situation. Ever since she had met him Jace had cared more than anything about her well being. Surely if he followed a group like the Circle it wouldn't have mattered if Clary was safe. After all, her own father didn't care whether she lived or died. So why would he?

Then again, it could've all been part of their plan. Get Clary to trust this country, these people. Get her to fall in love...

But what would the point of all that be? To get her to join the Circle? So they could kill her as a message to anyone that tried to disobey them? Maybe to send the country back into the war it had just gotten out of?

Clary shook these thoughts out of her head as she heard someone call her name from across one of the walls.

"Clary?" Isabelle's voice came from the right. "Clary are you up? Are you okay?" Clary slowly stood up and walked over to where the window was on that wall. It was too high for her to see through but as Clary looked up a hand popped through. She grinned as she reached up and took it, there was a sigh of relief from the other side.

"Yeah Iz, I'm alright," Clary called back over. "But I can't see you."

"I can see the top of your head." Isabelle laughed and Clary stretched up on her tiptoes. Her eyes now barely looked over the edge of the window and she saw Isabelle looking back at her. "Hi there."

"Hiya," Clary replied. Despite the situation, she grinned. Clary could see past Izzy to the rest of her cell. It was slightly larger than Clary's and there were other people in it. Clary recognized Maryse Lightwood and a family she remembered being the Carstairs.

"Was that Jace you were just talking to?" Isabelle asked the smile suddenly gone from her face.

Clary nodded slowly. "Yeah, that was Jace."

Isabelle looked down at her feet and shook her head as a tear fell down her cheek. "How could they do this? The king... my own father... my own brother..."

"Jace..." Clary finished the list for her and Isabelle looked up abruptly.

"Alec isn't the top of person to do something like this, though," Isabelle said. Her face was flushed with anger. "He's kind, honest, trusting, loyal. This isn't my Alec."

Clary sighed inwardly, she was hardly listening to Isabelle as her own thoughts consumed her. "I trusted him... I let my guard down and I fell for him... Hell, I kissed him..."

"We're not talking about Alec anymore?" Isabelle asked. "Are we?"

Clary took a deep breath before avoiding the question. "What happened while I was out?"

Isabelle grimaced. "All known Downworlders were thrown in a dungeon on the opposite side of the castle than where we are. All nobles who aren't loyal to Valentine are in this vicinity. Everyone else... well I don't know, to be honest."

"You mean you don't know what happened to Simon?" Isabelle shook her head. "They took him somewhere else, they wouldn't really tell us much of anything."

"That's horr-" Clary was cut off at the sound of running footsteps.

"Mom! Isabelle!" Alec whipped by Clary's cell without even noticing she was in it. The footsteps sounded and Clary assumed Alec standing in front of Isabelle's cell. When Clary looked back through the little window Isabelle was gone.

"I HATE YOU!"

Clary could barely make out the words as they were screeched. There was a sudden loud bang as a rock hit a wall and Alec jumped in front of Clary's cell. Clary assumed Isabelle did the same thing she had done to Jace, just with a much larger rock and a lot more force.

Alec still didn't notice Clary as he grimaced in the direction of where his sister and mother were. He leaned sideways against the bars of Clary's cell. She walked to the middle of the cell and raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Alec?" Clary said and he jumped. Alec turned to Clary with surprised eyes.

"Clary!"

"Hey," Clary greeted the boy but didn't take a step closer.

"Did you- did you talk to Jace?" Alec asked nervously.

"I don't want to think about Jace right now," Clary replied a little more harsh than intended. Alec nodded almost apologetically and stared at the ground. Clary narrowed her eyes as she watched him. He was a complete wreck.

"Do you really hate him though?" Alec suddenly looked back up. His question caught Clary off guard, she thought he was going to drop it.

"I..." Clary thought about it for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "I can't hate him, as much as I want to I can't."

Alec almost seemed to smile at that. He looked back down at the floor and there was a long silence.

"Alec," Clary said and he looked up. "How could you do this to Magnus?" At that Alec's mouth opened ever so slightly. All that came out though was a shaky breath. Alec rested his head against one of the bars.

Clary walked forward a step. First Jace, now Alec. Both boys were showing sides of themselves that Clary had never before seen. They were scared, vulnerable. Clary didn't know what to think of it but the more she watched Alec the more she got the feeling that he hated the Circle as much as anyone else.

"You really love him?" Clary asked and Alec looked up again. "Don't you?"

"Yeah," Alec nodded his head slightly. "Yeah, I do."

"But then... why? Why are you a part of this?" Clary asked. She walked up to the bars and looked Alec in the eye.

"I don't have much of a choice," Alec said staring back at Clary. "If I were to do anything against my father, anything the Circle, I'd be dead in a minute."

Clary's mouth gaped slightly. That hadn't even occurred to her.

"Alec you have to do _something,"_ Clary said after a long pause. "Valentine can't get away with this, he can't just keep everyone locked up. Alec... _please._ "

Alec looked at Clary and for a moment she had hope. For a moment she thought that he could really figure out a way to fight against this. Then someone called for him.

"Mr. Lightwood, you're time is up." A voice Clary couldn't see said. Alec looked at it for a moment before glancing back at Clary. She thought she saw a swift nod of his head before he walked back down the corridor and Clary was in her cell alone.

* * *

JACE'S POV

Jace walked swiftly through the halls of the castle. He was headed back to the foyer when he saw Alec coming from the opposite direction. Coming from the noble's dungeons.

"Jace," Alec called out as Jace paused for Alec to reach him. When he did the two continued walking. "I just spoke with Clary."

"Really? She didn't throw anything at you?" Jace spoke excitedly. He had been on the opposite side of the castle. He had done something big.

"I did get something thrown at me but not by Clary," Alec responded and Jace raised an eyebrow. "Sadly, my sister didn't grant me to same hospitality as our red-headed princess." Jace chuckled. "But Clary... Clary seems to trust me, strangely enough. She-"

"Listen," Jace said suddenly cutting Alec off. He stopped walking and Alec paused too raising an eyebrow in curiosity as he turned to Jace. "Alec. I ruined _everything._ "

Alec chuckled. "With Clary? I know, but don't worry man, I'm sure she'll forgive you some day." Alec started walking again but Jace grabbed his arm.

"I'm not talking about with Clary- I mean, yeah I did ruin everything with her but I'm hoping what I've done with help with that." Alec's eyes slowly widened.

"Jace-" He said warningly. It was the tone Jace knew meant _whatever you've done I'm not helping you get out of it._

"Alec," Jace looked around swiftly to make sure no one heard him. "Alec I released all the Downworlders." Alec's jaw hit the ground. "There's more..." Jace grimaced a little. "I planted the evidence on my parents."

"How? What evidenced?"

"I put the key in my dad's study."

"But plenty of Circle members have the key to the Downworlder dungeons." Alec pointed out and Jace grimaced again.

"Yeah but there's only one copy of the key to the cell the queen is in..." Jace paused as Alec's eyes began to impossibly widen further. "Because I may have also released the queen..."

"JACE!"

"Shhh," Jace put his hands up to calm Alec and looked around to make sure there was still no one there.

"Jace!" Alec yelled again, this time much quieter. "You're going to get in so much trouble for this."

"No, because I won't be caught," Jace said, he was sure of himself. "Now, we just play the waiting game and let the Downworld make the first move."

"And what 'move' would that be?" Alec asked angrily and Jace smirked back.

"They're going to fight."

 **Can the Downworlders win? Will Clary ever be able to forgive Jace? And what happened to Simon and the other commoners?  
Hope y'all liked this chapter!**


	19. Plans and Betrayals

Clary paced back and forth in her cell. It had been an entire day since her talk with Jace and then Alec. Neither of them had visited Clary since and she didn't know whether she should be happy or sad about that.

Clary had been able to talk to Isabelle which was a great help in keeping her entertained even though Isabelle plotted her revenge for half the time they talked. Despite everything that happened Clary didn't think she wanted revenge as much as Isabelle, the girl was apparently planning not only Valentine's death but also the death of her own father and brother. That scared Clary a bit.

Still, Clary wanted revenge herself of course. The cold and hard of the concrete of her cell didn't really help to calm her anger either. She hadn't slept in the past 24 hours either. Clary was too fueled by her emotions to even stay still for longer than a minute. So she had paced, and paced, and paced, and she was pretty sure she had lost a few pounds from all the pacing.

"Clary would you stop it, you're giving me a headache," Isabelle said, she was peering through the little window at Clary.

"Then stop watching me," Clary replied still pacing.

"I can hear you too. Your shoes are pretty noisy on this floor."

Clary stopped and glared at Isabelle. "Well _sorry_ if my freaking out is upsetting you. This is serious!" Clary threw her arms before continuing to pace. "What are we going to do? We're going to be locked in here forever."

"No we won't," Isabelle assured her. "Somebody will come for us. I just know it."

"Who? Who could possibly come for us right now?"

Isabelle didn't seem very confident even as she continued to try and make Clary feel better. "The Downworlders that didn't get locked up-"

"Yeah and about how many of those do you think there's left?" Clary scoffed.

"The commoners then, Simon will do something."

"And remind where Simon is again?"

Isabelle sighed. "Jace will come back. I've known him forever, he's not a-"

"A TRAITOR?" Clary stomped up to the window and stood on her tiptoes so she was looking at Isabelle. "Is that what you were going to say? He's not a traitor?" Anger and hatred burned in her eyes as she spoke. "Because trust me when I tell you that knowing someone all your life doesn't mean you truly know them. Weren't you just fighting against me saying that Alec is the devil? Well, this is me telling you that Jace is his equal."

Clary turned away from the window and walked around the cell more. Her legs had begun to grow tired but she didn't care. All she wanted was to get out of there and find her mother and her friends. She wanted to protect them. But most of all she wanted her father dead.

"Clary," Isabelle spoke in a near whisper. "He'll come back for you."

Clary's body began to shake at those words. She clenched and unclenched her fists but didn't stop walking. She hardly even looked at Isabelle when she spoke.

"Clary he loves you, anyone can see that." Isabelle continued. "He was practically jumping out of his skin when Valentine had that knife at your throat."

"Didn't Alec love you?" Clary's voice was full of venom. She didn't look up when she spoke but she could imagine Isabelle's expression. "Didn't you say love is the biggest masquerade on hate and betrayal? Don't be a hypocrite Isabelle. If Alec hates you then Jace loathes me."

Isabelle let out a small sigh. She had been beaten and she knew it.

"That's not true," Clary's head suddenly snapped up at the sound of Magnus' voice.

 _Magnus._

Clary rushed forward towards the bars when she saw the glittery man standing there. She grabbed the metal so tight her knuckles turned white. Magnus held his hands over her own and smiled.

"Hello, biscuit."

"Magnus what are you doing here? How'd you get out?" Clary's words were so rushed, she was ecstatic to see her friend.

"Wait Magnus is there? WHAT? HOW?" Isabelle's voice came from the other side of the wall. Magnus took a step back so Isabelle could see him from her cell.

"I doubt either of you will believe me but Jace released all the Downworlders. He even managed to get out Queen Jocelyn but the cells of the nobility are far too heavily guarded at the moment. The only reason he even got out Clary's mom was because the one and only key is kept on Valentine at all times, that means that there's only one guard." Magnus explained and he was right. Clary really didn't believe him.

"How did you get in here?" Isabelle asked and Magnus looked up to the ceiling before back down at the two girls.

"Vents," He shrugged. "But I don't have any way to get you out. I just wanted to tell you to hang on, the war isn't over yet."

Before Isabelle or Clary could question Magnus further he pulled himself back up into the vent on the wall. Clary stumbled backward before landing on her bed. She was completely shocked. If Magnus was telling the truth then her mom was safe, the Downworlders have all escaped, they had a chance at getting out, and... Jace was the cause of it all.

"Izzy."

"Yeah."

"Somebody's coming for us."

* * *

JACE'S POV

"My King," Stephen said as he entered the throne room with Jace at his side. Valentine sat in the largest chair.

"What is it, Stephen?" He asked sounding bored.

"Sir, I just thought that I should inform you about the escape of the Downworlders." Valentine sat forward abruptly, his eyes were bulging out of his head. "We don't know who helped them yet but as your new advisor, I suggest that you thoroughly question each of the Circle members. It is likely that it was an outsider but just as likely that it wasn't."

"And the nobles? Jocelyn?" Valentine asked. Apparently, he hadn't realized Jace had stolen his key yet.

"The nobility is safe but I have no knowledge of the Queen. You are the only one with a key, sir." The sound of his father's voice when he said 'sir' made Jace want to gag. How could his father be so weak willed and spineless as to suck up to a man like Valentine?

"Very well, you are excused. I will formulate a plan to deal with the Downworld soon." Jace and Stephen both bowed before turning away from Valentine. "Jace, not you. Stay here a moment."

Jace looked over to his father as he paused. Stephen didn't even give him a sideways glance. So much for parental protection.

"Yes, my king?" Jace said turning around, he tried to hide the disgust in his voice as he spoke but only partially succeeded.

"Clarissa woke yesterday?" He asked and Jace nodded.

"She did, sir."

"Good," Valentine grinned toothily. "Bring her here."

Jace had to bite his tongue to keep calm. "If you don't mind me asking, what for, sir?"

"Relax, Jace," Valentine said. "I will be bringing no harm to my daughter. I simply wish to have her at my side when I slaughter each and every last one of her friends. Besides for you and Alec of course." Valentine's eyes seemed to gleam at that last part like he knew what he was doing to Jace.

"I don't think the princess ever really considered me a friend, sir," Jace replied. His heart felt like it was going to leap straight out of his chest.

"Fantastic," Valentine laughed. "That just makes it easier to _not_ kill you. Now on with it young Herondale."

"Yes sir," Jace gritted his teeth as he bowed once again and turned to leave.

Jace ran his hands through his hair as he made his way to the dungeons. He didn't know how long it would be until the Downworlders attacked but it had only been a day so far. Not only that but now Valentine was aware they were gone. It was only a matter of time until things got messy but Jace was hoping for an attack before he brought Clary to Valentine.

So they needed to attack within the next 10 minutes.

As Jace walked down the stairs the guard parted so he could get by. He honestly hated being known as a Circle member. He hated being in the Circle, either way, whether people knew or not he wanted to get out.

When Jace reached Clary's cell she didn't notice him right away. She was pacing her cell and Jace could hear Isabelle talking to her from the other side of the wall.

"Clary I told you to stop pacing like 10 times already."

"I don't give a damn about your headache Isabelle," Clary called back and Jace couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face.

"But I thought you would've calmed down after what Magnus said?" Isabelle whined.

"Magnus visited, did he?" Jace said and Clary froze. Her head whipped up towards him and her eyes went wide.

"NO! No, he did not!" Isabelle yelled from the other side.

"Calm down," Jace called over. "I'm the one that released him, I was sort of hoping he would manage to get down here."

Clary walked up to the bars surprising Jace. He thought she would've cringed away from him like she did last time. Instead, she now clung to the bars and looked up at Jace with hopeful eyes.

"So he was telling the truth? You got them out? You got my mom out?" Her voice was soft and she almost looked like she wanted to cry. Jace couldn't bring himself to speak so all he did in response was nod. Clary let out a large sigh. "And you're going to get us out? Right?"

And then reality came back to him. Jace could definitely manage to get a key and unlock the doors for the nobility but there were too many guards for them all to escape successfully. Most of the nobles were with the Circle- Jace only knew of a few families that weren't- so they wouldn't be able to fight their way out.

Jace shook his head slowly as he unlocked the door. Clary took a large step back as he entered her cell.

"Not yet, I haven't figured out how." Jace answered. Clary watched him curiously.

"Then what are you doing here?"

Jace took a step towards Clary. He took both her hands in his and held them for a moment. Clary looked up at him with large eyes. Jace pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes before closing a pair of hand cuffs around Clary's wrists. She jerked backward when the cold metal wrapped around her skin. Jace kept a hold on her though.

Betrayal was the only emotion on Clary's face now. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth was in a straight line. Jace could hardly believe what he was doing.

"I'm sorry," He whispered

"Seriously?" Isabelle yelled from the other side and Jace looked up to realize there was a small window in the wall that she was looking through. "Don't get my damn hopes up and then do something like _that._ This is torture!"

Clary didn't react to Isabelle's yell. She continued to stare at Jace, her eyes not leaving his face for a moment. The only sign that Clary had actually heard Isabelle was when she softly spoke.

"What she said."

 **Hey y'all! So as I'm sure some of you have noticed I posted a new story called Design. I know I'm not even done with this one yet but the idea had been rolling around in my head for a while. Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review!  
**


	20. Cuffs and Thrones

Clary trudged along beside Jace all the way to the throne room. She didn't dawdle though, she saw no point in delaying the inevitable. Clary was going to have to see her father eventually and she knew it. Jace, on the other hand, seemed to almost be trying to walk as slow as possible. It was like he had been hoping for Clary to fight against him so they had a reason to take longer.

Clary had realized this when Alec had crossed their path and Jace had let out a large sigh of relief as he stopped Clary and spoke with his friend. Alec seemed surprised to see Clary there and she wondered if he even knew what Valentine was doing with her. She wondered if even Jace knew.

"Clary? Jace what's-" Alec didn't need to finish the sentence though, Jace knew what he was going to ask.

"Valentine wanted me to bring her to the throne room." He answered. He was holding Clary's wrist though she suspected it wasn't so she couldn't try to escape.

"Why?" Alec seemed alarmed.

"He's-" Jace's breath caught, almost like he was trying not to cry. "He wants- he wants Clary at his side when he kills each of her friend one-by-one."

Clary jerked backward. "What!" She squealed but Jace didn't look at her.

"Simon, Isabelle, Magnus..." Alec was in shock. He shoulders drooped lower with each name he said. "Us?"

Jace shook his head. "No, but I suspect Maia and Jordan too since they were with us all that night. He'll have to find them first though."

Alec ran both his hands through his hair. He wasn't looking directly at Jace, more so at the wall right behind him.

"No..." Clary whimpered and backed up until her back hit the wall and she slid down to the floor. Only then did Jace look back at Clary, he's eyes full of self-hatred and sorrow.

"Clary I promise we're not going to let him lay a hand on any of them," Jace squatted down in front of her. "It's going to be okay."

"Why should I trust a thing you say?" Clary spat but her voice was filled more with sadness than venom.

Jace suddenly grabbed Clary's hand. She looked up from where her gaze had been on the floor to see him staring right at her.

"Because I would never let anyone hurt you or someone you love," Jace spoke with determination. "I'd die first."

"Then you'd be hurting someone I love..." Clary whispered so quietly that she wasn't sure Jace had heard her. It was only when he brought her hand up and kissed it that she thought he might have heard.

"Come on," Jace stood up still holding Clary's bound hands. "Valentine is going to get angry if we're not there soon."

"I'm going out," Alec said as Clary pulled herself up. "I'm going to find Magnus. I can't- I can't just stand by and watch as my sister is killed."

Alec paused, he didn't move from where he stood for a long moment before he suddenly took a knife out of a holder at his side. He brought it up over his chest to a stitched on badge Clary hadn't noticed before. It was a large red circle. Jace was wearing one too.

"Alec, what are you doing?" Jace's eyes widened with fear and he let go of Clary as Alec dug the tip of the blade into the fabric.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." He wiggled the knife so that it cut through the circle.

"Alec if you do this and someone sees what happened you're going to be executed as a traitor to the Circle," Jace warned but Alec continued to vandalize his badge until half the threads were hanging out loosely and you could clearly tell someone had purposefully done it.

"I don't give a shit anymore," Alec exclaimed. "Let them see me, it doesn't matter. I may have been in the Circle but I have always wanted out. I just can't stand to be a part of this, I'm done." Alec slammed the knife back into his holster and then stormed off. Jace looked after him worriedly and even Clary wondered if that had been the right choice.

"Fuck," Jace whispered and rubbed his temple.

Without hesitating Clary tangled her fingers with Jace's. Her handcuffs were just wide enough apart that it wasn't very hard to do. Jace looked back at Clary a little shocked but soon squeezed her hand lightly.

"He's going to be okay," Clary assured him. "I know he will be."

"How?"

"Because the Downworlders have a plan and they're going to win this war. Even if it takes another 18 years." Clary wasn't confident but she made it sound like she was and Jace seemed to believe her. He smiled softly and started walking.

It didn't take them very long before they reached the open door of the throne room. The rest of the walk Jace had held onto to Clary's hand like that was the only thing keeping him grounded. The moment they reached the doors though Jace yanked his hand away from Clary's. She didn't have time to even give him a questioning glance though as he ushered her into the room.

When they entered the first thing Clary saw was Valentine. He sat on the throne with his arms on the armrests. When Valentine saw that Jace had returned with Clary a smile grew on his face. Clary could see an evil glow in his eyes that she had somehow missed before. Looking at him now all Clary saw was a villain. He no longer was her father, he was the antagonist in the story of her life.

"Clarissa," Valentine said smugly. "Thank you, Jace, for bringing me my daughter. Executions will begin in a few hours."

Jace nodded his head respectively. Clary watched his facade, she knew it was fake but it felt so real like Jace was actually loyal to Valentine. That made Clary want to throw up.

"Yes, my king. But if you don't mind me asking what about the Downworlder friends? They're all gone now and we still have to conduct the search to find out who let them out," Jace pointed out.

"I am aware of that little problem," Valentine answered. "The plan is to carry out the execution with the two we have and Clarissa can watch the war when we slaughter the entire filthy Downworld."

Jace's jaw tightened but he remained calm. Clary, on the other hand, was about to explode. How did Valentine expect her to just sit next to him as he killed her friends?

"Very well sir, where-"

"My king," Somebody cut off Jace as a small group of people barged into the room. Jace's parents were among them. "We had only just started the search but it appears it's already over."

"You have already found the person who released the Downworlders?" Valentine stood up and walked past Jace and Clary to the group.

"Yes sir, you see the Herondale Manor is the first on the road," Clary looked up at Jace with wide eyes. He didn't look back at her but he did hold up a finger as if telling her to wait. "We found the key to Jocelyn's cell hidden in the study."

Valentine's eyes went wide. He marched back over to the throne and lifted the seat of it. Clary was a little surprised, she didn't know it had a hidden compartment. From the throne, Valentine brought out a box. He opened it and with just a second's glance glared back up at the group. Jace put his arm up so it was just barely in front of Clary as the leader threw down the box with all his force. Wooden shards erupted on the ground as it broke on impact.

"Stephen," Valentine growled. The Herondales looked frightened and confused.

"Sir we have no idea how the key got there, I wasn't even aware that Jocelyn was missing." Stephen pleaded as Valentine neared them.

"Betrayal is not a good color on you," Was the last thing Valentine said before reaching up to Stephen's head and snapping his neck. Clary's mouth fell open as Jace stood in front of her as if to guard her against watching someone die. Clary felt like she should've been the one guarding Jace.

"Holy shit!" Clary exclaimed and suddenly all eyes were on her. "I thought that kind of stuff only happened in movies! I mean you just- you killed him! With your bare hands! What the hell?" Jace put a hand over Clary's mouth to silence her but it was a little too late for that. Valentine looked at her curiously.

"Someone remove Celine, bring her to a cell." He was still looking at Clary even as he instructed his followers. "Stephen's body too, take it where Hodge's is." Valentine paused for a minute and Clary started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "Jace, take Clarissa to her old room. The executions will be delayed on account of your parents."

Jace nodded his head before grabbing Clary by the wrist and pulling her out of the room. Valentine's gaze followed them until they were out of view. Clary stopped herself and Jace once they reached the familiar stairs that led to Clary's room. Jace looked at her strangely when she stopped.

It was in that moment that everything began to hit her all over again. It was just one of those things that you realized over and over and over and no matter how many times you realized it you were still going to die a little inside. Clary started to hyperventilate and she paced back and forth in front of the steps.

"Simon. Isabelle. Magnus. Alec. Mom. Valentine. Oh, my Jesus." Clary spewed out. Jace raised an eyebrow at her ramblings. "I'm in the middle of a damn war. My father is the man who started the war. My mother is God knows where. And to top it all off I'm letting a boy who has betrayed me several times take over every damn emotion I have and completely control me. My life is a mess. It was so much simpler when I lived with Camille. I don't think there was a single war when I lived with Camille. Nope, not one. But now-"

Jace suddenly grabbed Clary by the waist and swung her over his shoulder. She had absolutely no time to react as Jace carried her upstairs.

"Jace what are you doing? Put me down!" Clary yelled trying to wiggle out of his grasp but then she figured that would be a bad idea considering she would likely face plant on the steps.

"Why? I'd figure you'd be enjoying the view." Clary could hear the smirk in Jace's voice and she hit him on his back.

"Now is not exactly the time for jokes," Clary growled back but she sort of had to admit it was hard to not... look... there...

"I disagree, I have found that in the middle of a crisis it is the perfect time for jokes. Helps everyone's nerves settle." Jace replied.

"I am not enjoying this," Clary said as they reached the door to her room.

"Clary you really shouldn't lie," Jace opened the door and walked over to Clary's bed. He leaned forward and dropped her down it. When Clary saw his face she found out she had been right about that smirk. He leaned over her so that their faces were just inches apart and whispered. "It's not polite."

Jace leaned away from Clary just as she began to feel her face go bright red. Clary gulped hard and sat up in her bed. She was pissed that Jace had this sort of effect on her. A boy should not be able to influence the way she feels simply by being in her line of sight. Simply by being in her thoughts. Clary hated Jace for making her love him.

"I never lie," Clary responded as she stood up and glared up at the golden-boy.

"Now I'm hurt," Jace mock pouted.

Clary crossed her arms over her chest. "You should probably leave, I'm sure Valentine will be wondering where you are."

Jace walked closer to Clary. "You think so?" He asked looking down at her. "You really think Valentine would be mad if I stayed just a few more minutes?" He smiled as he almost closed the gap between their faces. Their lips barely centimeters apart. Clary's breath caught as she looked up into his eyes. Her mind went completely blank and all she knew were those eyes. Those damned golden eyes.

"No," Clary replied softly despite not remembering what she was answering. She felt the cuffs around her hands slowly unlock and then fall to the floor. Jace let his lips brush her for a moment and just as Clary thought he was going to kiss her he spoke.

"Actually you're right, I should probably be going." Jace took a step backward and Clary closed her eyes as she was brought back to reality.

"Damn it," Clary cursed for allowing herself to fall under Jace's spell.

"Don't worry princess," Jace grinned as he now stood at her door, clearly completely aware of the effect he had on her. "I'll be back when we've won the war. And trust me, we will win the war."

 **Muahaha, the war is still yet to come but trust me that the war _is_ to come. And soon, might I add. But what will the Downworlders do? When will they make their first attack? How will Isabelle and Simon get out of this execution, if they even can? What will happen when the king discovers that Alec is officially no longer a part of the Circle? And when will Clace kiss again? All answers to come.  
I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review and I'll update soon!**


	21. Vines and Escapes

JOCELYN'S POV

They were sitting in the basement of one of the stores in the city. Jocelyn didn't even know this was here and it was so large that it probably stretched out under multiple other businesses. Immediately after Jace had released her Jocelyn had been taken in by the Downworlders. They brought her here which one of them had explained was basically their headquarters.

It had been a day since her escape now and Jocelyn's mind kept going back to Clary. Her poor daughter was still locked up in the castle. She had absolutely no idea what Valentine could be planning but she knew it wouldn't be good. She suspected that the nobles who weren't loyal to him would die. Jocelyn thought of everyone she knew who wasn't in the Circle. Luke, Maryse, the Carstairs, the Penhallows... she was sure there were more people. She was sure...

Suddenly the door to the basement swung open. Jocelyn stood up abruptly as Alec Lightwood appeared. There was no one with him though which made Jocelyn curious. This was a boy she had known all his life, she had watched him grow up in the midst of a war. She knew Alec, so she let her guard down.

"Alec, what are you doing here?" Jocelyn asked stepping forward. Alec came closer and that was when she noticed what he had done to his circle badge.

"I left, they're-" Alec took a shuddering breath as he tried to get out what he was saying. "They're going to kill my little sister and Valentine is going to make Clary watch as he and Simon are slaughtered."

Jocelyn's hands flew up to her mouth. "Oh no," She whispered.

"Yeah, and they're going to attack the escaped Downworlders as soon as possible," Alec explained. "I don't know what they plan to do but I know it's happening soon."

"Does Valentine know it was Jace that released them and me?" Jocelyn asked, her chest suddenly swelling with fear for the boy.

"No, Jace..." Alec pursed his lips for a moment. "Jace pinned the whole thing on his parents."

Jocelyn's eyebrows shot up. "But Valentine will kill them."

Alec nodded. "Jace was aware of that when he did it."

"Why?" Jocelyn shook her head trying to understand why Jace did everything he did. "Why?" It was the only word she could get out.

"He has his reasons," Alec spoke softly.

Magnus suddenly came down the stairs and Alec turned around at the noise. Magnus' eyes widened when he saw who it was and Alec looked... shattered. Jocelyn couldn't put her finger on what he was feeling exactly but as the two boys saw each other she could see something breaking inside of Alec. Especially when Magnus' expression because upset, he didn't seem betrayed or angry, just upset.

"Magnus," The word came out in a sigh and Alec took a step forward.

"You're here," Magnus gulped. "What happened? Is Jace here too? Is Clary?"

Alec shook his head as he took another step forward. Magnus stayed where he was. "No, it's just me."

At that Magnus' breath caught. "Why?"

"Valentine-" Alec said suddenly coming back to reality. "He's going to kill Isabelle and Simon and once he finds you, you and he's going to force Clary to watch."

Magnus scowled disbelieving. "What?"

"I couldn't take it anymore," Alec said suddenly taking multiple steps so he was standing right in front of Magnus. "I had to find you."

Magnus reached down and grabbed Alec's hand. Jocelyn suddenly felt like she should give them some privacy.

"We'll attack today then," Magnus said then and he looked back to Jocelyn as if to confirm that this was really happening. "We were planning something for tomorrow but I'll tell the leader that it must happen today. I won't let anyone touch our Izzy."

* * *

CLARY'S POV

Clary sat at her window. She hadn't taken her eyes off the city for the past few hours. She watched, waiting, hoping, praying. She wanted to see the Downworlders appear and catch the Circle off guard. She imagined them coming out from the buildings and blood spraying the ground as the Circle fell. She pictured her mother coming and finding her and taking her away from here. She thought about Valentine's death, she wished for it to come soon.

Clary was disappointed in herself for having these sort of thoughts. She had never imagined herself as a particularly violent person, but now all she could think about was war, death, murder, blood.

It had been about 12 hours since Jace had brought Clary up to her room. No one had visited her since, not even to give her food. Clary had attempted to open the door of course, but it was locked from the outside. After her one attempt, Clary had retreated back to her window and stayed there. She didn't know if she had fallen asleep at one point or another after a while time seemed to blur by.

Clary leaned her head against the window. She looked around her room as boredom overcame her once again. Clary sighed deeply, she thought she was beginning to go insane. She turned her head back to the window and looked down. She was really high up. But then Clary realized something. There were vines next to her window. She knew because one day she had opened up her window, took the screen out, and stuck her head out.

Clary stood up suddenly. She yanked open the window but was met with the obstacle of the screen. Last time she had used a screwdriver and took it out as one normally would, this time she didn't have a screwdriver. Clary looked around her room until her eyes landed on the door to her bathroom. She ran over to it and immediately looked for a nail clipper. When she found it she ran back over to the window and froze. Was she really about to do this? Was Clary really about to risk her life to get out?

 _I'll be dead if I stay anyway_ , Clary thought and as soon as she did she used the nail clipper to cut into the screen. She made a small hole and then used her hands to rip the hole making it larger. When Clary decided she could fit through it, she carefully stuck her legs over. There was a thin ledge right outside the window that wrapped all the way around the window. Clary set her small feet on this and grabbed the edge of the window as tight as possible.

Slowly, Clary peered out and pushed her body out of her room. A small gasp escaped her mouth when she saw how high up she was. Clary forced herself to stay where she stood despite every nerve in her body trying to get her to go back. Clary looked to her side to see the vines she would be climbing on. She reached over with one hand and grabbed the nearest vine tightly as possible. Taking a deep breath Clary let go with her other hand and quickly swung her body around to grab the other vine.

Clary's body hit the hard brick of the castle and it took all her strength not to let go. Clary's feet managed to grip onto the rough brick and Clary found herself thanking the god's that the castle was so old.

Clary was reluctant to climb down. She eventually forced herself to slowly inch downward reminding herself every few feet that the faster she went the faster she be closer to the ground. When Clary was about 10 feet from the ground is when the vine ended. Clary hung on for dear life as she summoned up the courage to drop.

With one more deep breath, Clary released the vine. She squealed as she fell and hit the ground hard. She landed on grass but it wasn't exactly like that did much to soften the blow. Clary breathed hard as she regained her composure.

It was only after a few moments of sitting there that Clary realized she was wide open. Anyone could see her. Clary began to scramble to go somewhere- anywhere- when she noticed there was a patrolling guard heading in her general direction. Clary was about to run to the bushes a few feet behind her when the guard suddenly spotted her. His eyes went wide with recognition and then anger.

But before he could take a single step an arrow pierced his skull. Clary was in such shock that she couldn't move. It was only when she heard voices that she managed to finally push herself back into the bushes. After a moment there were multiple pairs of footsteps. Clary didn't take the chance to look and see who it was though.

"This is it," The voice said sternly. "You're sure of what the boy told you?" There was no response so Clary could only assume the other person was nodding.

"Then we storm the castle now," Another voice said. Clary didn't recognize any of them. She assumed they were Downworlders and once that thought passed Clary's mind she realized she should probably reveal herself.

So, before anyone else could speak Clary slowly stood up. She realized she must have injured her ankle again as it throbbed under her weight. The Downworlders didn't notice her at first but Clary recognized one of them. It was Magnus. He was the first person to notice her.

"Clarissa!" Magnus exclaimed and she rushed forward into his open arms. "How did you-"

"I climbed out through my window," Clary answered before he finished the question.

"Biscuit that was extremely dangerous, anyone could have seen you." Magnus scolded her but a smile was beginning to appear on his face. "Follow Jordan, get back to the base," Magnus said and Jordan stepped forward.

"No," Clary shook her head. "I want to help you guys." Multiple people opened their mouths to protest so Clary cut them all off by speaking louder. "Let me reword that, I'm going to help you guys whether you allow me to or not. So pass over a sword." Clary spoke with such confidence that everybody else immediately shut up. She saw Jordan grin at their loss of words and he pulled out a sword for Clary.

"I'd fight alongside you any day, princess." He said as Clary took the sword. When he called her princess Clary immediately thought of Jace. He was going to be inside the castle with the other Circle members. Clary could only hope that he would join them and everyone else would see him as an ally.

"Good," Clary said shaking away her uneasy feeling. "Then let's fight."

 **Okay so it wasn't really the beginning of the war... but it kind of was at the same time. Just... trust me there will be fighting in the next chapter. Anyway, what do you guys want to see happen in the battle? I already have the ending planned out but I'm definitely willing to take suggestions. Y'all tend to have pretty great ideas.  
I hope y'all liked this chapter and I'll try to update soon!**


	22. Fights and Swords

**So I know it's been a bit since I last updated but near the middle of this chapter I accidentally deleted the exact same scene like 5 times... so sorry if part of this is badly written. I mean by the Angel it started to become an annoying scene to write. Anyway... hope y'all enjoy the chapter.**

The moment they entered the castle Clary froze. It was as though reentering the building made reality slap her in the face and she realized she was doing this. She was about to fight in a war.

People rushed all around Clary as they began to storm the castle. The people in the foyer were immediately, well, killed. After their blood was spilled the Downworlders spread out and rushed through all the hallways and all the stairs. It was only after everybody was ahead of Clary that she snapped out of her daze and ran forward.

Clary made a beeline for the direction she had seen Magnus go in. She wanted to stay as close as possible to someone she actually knew and trusted. As Clary neared the end of the hallway she heard fighting. She ended up running into the grand hall to see probably hundreds of people fighting. She didn't spot Magnus right away so Clary just kept on going. She stayed close to the wall as she watched the battle before her.

When Clary did finally spot Magnus she saw him facing off against three other people. Instincts kicked in and Clary ran forward to help. Before anyone could even notice her Clary swung the sword Jordan had given her at the nearest person. It connected with a sickening thud and they fell. Magnus hardly gave Clary a glance as he focused on the other two. It was only another moment before the other two fell and Magnus turned to Clary.

"Good job biscuit, I didn't know if there was truly a killer in you," He was grinning and a surge of happiness went through Clary. Magnus was proud of her.

"Thanks," She beamed.

"Of course, now why don't you continue fighting so this war can finally be over?" Magnus ruffled Clary's hair before leaping back into battle. Clary watched him for a moment before turning to look for her own fight.

Before Clary could even take a step though someone's hand was over her face. Clary was suddenly being dragged out of the grand hall by an unknown assailant. She kicked as hard as she could but they had too hard of a grip on her. Clary's sword was even knocked from her hand as they made it out into a vacant hallway.

Clary tried to scream. She even licked the palm of the person holding her but they barely even flinched. She whipped from side to side which at least made it harder for them to drag her. She only stopped her fidgeting when a blade was suddenly pressed against her neck. Clary breathed hard and couldn't help but think that this was the end. Was this really how she was to die? In the middle of a war her father started?

These thoughts were suddenly cut from Clary's mind though when she heard the squelch of a sword going through skin. There was a soft gasp and then the grip on Clary's loosened and there was a thud as the person that had been holding her fell to the ground. Clary spun around to see Jace standing behind her with a bloodied sword in his hand.

"I thought you were dead," His voice came out uneven and Clary couldn't understand why. What had happened that made him think she died?

"Why?" Clary asked as she took a step forward but when she did Jace took a step back. He was angry at her, that much was evident from his expression.

"I went up to your room and you weren't there. Clary, what the _hell_ were you thinking?" Jace's voice had been soft but he suddenly lashed out and Clary couldn't help but take a step back. "You climbed out of your room? Do you know how high up that is? And then you joined the Downworlders' raid of the castle? There are so many people here that would _love_ to have you dead! That would love to be the one that made you die! For once why can't you think, Clary!?"

"I'm sorry," Clary said quietly. She hadn't expected for him to react like this.

Jace shook his head. He took a sudden step forward and grabbed Clary's arm. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here." He started walking down the hallway dragging Clary behind.

"What? No," Clary tugged back and Jace stopped. "I want to fight, I want to help. I'm not going anywhere."

"Hell, you're not. You are not fighting, I won't let you." Jace still looked mad but now there was something else there too. Worry? Fear?

"Are you going to fight?" Clary asked and Jace shrugged.

"Yes, of course."

"Then so am I," Jace scoffed and Clary threw her hands in the air. "I'm not a child! I can take care of myself."

"I am trained in combat!" Jace snapped. "So are almost every other noble out there! Every noble that wants _you_ dead, might I add! You are not going to fight." Clary's eyes went wide. Jace had never yelled at her like this before and if she was being honest it was scaring her. She assumed that Jace realized this because his face suddenly went soft and he started speaking normally again. "Clary, please. Just come with me." He took both her hands in both of his and Clary slowly nodded. "Thank you," Jace whispered before leading her down the hall again.

They eventually arrived in the throne room. To Clary's surprise, it was completely empty. Valentine was nowhere to be found and Clary didn't know whether she should be happy or worried about that. The two were heading to the door opposite the one they had come in when there was a sudden bang. Jace whirled around and put an arm in front of Clary as they saw Valentine enter. He had slammed the door they had come in through behind him.

"My dear Clarissa," He said calmly. "I was wondering where you had gone."

Jace didn't back down after seeing that it was Valentine and that worried Clary a little. With the protective stance he was in it was clear that Jace was against his king.

"And Jace, killing one of our own?" Valentine 'tsk'ed. "Now that's a big no-no."

"I am not one of you," Jace snarled.

"Oh I'm aware, I also know it was you to release the Downworlders and the queen." Valentine was dawdling around the room, his hands clasped in front of him. Jace turned his body to face wherever Valentine was standing.

"H-how?" Jace asked he seemed to falter at the fact that Valentine had knowledge of what he'd done and hadn't reprimanded him for it yet.

"Well, I had a very lengthy conversation with Celine and it occurred to me that maybe I had been a bit rash in killing your father. Maybe I should have killed you instead," As Valentine spoke Clary could see that Jace was mentally slapping himself. "And now, seeing you reacting so violently towards me, well it's clear that you have never been a part of the Circle. Not truly. And that hurts Jace, to know that one of my own was never really mine."

Jace rolled his eyes. He was gripping his sword tightly and as Clary watched her father walking she could see the glint of a sword handle at his waist. "It's taken you long enough to figure it out." Jace scoffed and Valentine scowled.

"Yes, I suppose it has." He sighed deeply as he put his hands on his hips. "But now I know I don't intend on letting any traitor live."

With that Valentine yanked his sword from his holster. Jace pushed Clary farther back behind him. She ended up hitting the wall behind them as Valentine took a step forward. He swung at Jace who easily parried with his own sword. The two continued going at it, Valentine swinging and Jace blocking him with ease. But Clary could see that the king was clearly not trying.

Valentine suddenly brought down his sword so hard that he hit Jace's sword out of his hand. It skidded over to where the thrones sat and Jace's eyes went wide when he realized he was defenseless. Valentine hardly had to try and yet he had already had the golden-boy frozen as he leveled the tip of his sword at his neck. Jace swallowed hard and Clary could tell he was trying to figure out a way out of this but even as she watched this all play out she could see that there wasn't one.

"There's no way out Jace, the Circle will beat the Downworlders and Idris will return to what it once was," Valentine said. "It's over. You're dead, you're all dead."

Jace stood unwavering. "Then do it." Valentine seemed taken back when Jace spoke. He even took a step forward, his throat pressing inward against the tip of the blade. "Kill me." Clary's eyes widened at how serious his voice was. Even Valentine seemed to be surprised, maybe a little confused. His sword didn't waver though.

Clary's eyes widened as she watched Valentine bring his sword back. She didn't need to be skilled with a sword to know what it looked like when someone was preparing a swing. The moment the sword stopped everything seemed to be in slow motion. Clary saw Valentine bring the weapon down. It gained more speed as it approached its target: Jace's neck. Clary barely even had seconds to react.

"No!" Clary flung herself to the ground where Jace's sword had fallen. She didn't even bother with standing up as she swung out towards Valentine's legs. Everything seemed to switch out of the strange slow motion state as the blade made contact with Valentine's ankle. The king dropped down on his hands and knees as Clary watched a blood begin to pool around his foot.

Clary stood up with the sword still in her hand. She watched as Valentine slowly picked himself up off the ground. She noticed that he was putting all of his weight on his left foot, his right one laid almost limp next to it. Valentine held on to his sword but let it rest at his side, he seemed to be making no effort to even threaten Clary. Even when the princess brought her sword up. She tightened her grasp on it as she pointed it at her father.

Valentine almost seemed like he wanted to laugh. He lazily swung his sword back and forth at his side. The silver splotched with a deep, flowing red. "You can't do it," He scoffed. "It's one thing to hit an ankle, it's another to kill one's own father. You can't kill me."

Clary's hands were shaking and she knew that Valentine could probably tell but still, she refused to let him see her as weak. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Clary's voice stayed surprisingly even. She brought the sword back just as she had seen Valentine do and prepared to swing. Clary froze though as she held the sword back. Despite the man being a complete menace she somehow couldn't bring herself to swing.

Shamefully, Clary brought the sword down slowly. Hot tears threatened to spill over onto her cheeks as she stared at Valentine's smug face with absolute hatred.

"You see," Valentine said pointing his sword up at Clary, he quickly brought it back down though and Clary could see he was merely using it as an emphasizing device. "I told you you couldn't do-"

Valentine was caught off when a small throwing dagger made perfect contact with the center of his chest. He looked down at it as red began to spread as a stain on his shirt. Valentine's sword dropped from his hand right as he fell the floor. Clary's mouth gaped and she even dropped the sword that had been in her hand as she stared at her seemingly dead dad in shock.

It was only when there was a small grunt behind her that Clary was reminded of Jace. She spun around to him to see that he had stumbled against the wall that she had been leaning against just moments before. There was a large gash across Jace's chest. Clary figured that when Valentine fell the first time his sword must have swiped against Jace, not hard enough to be completely lethal but still bad enough that it would require immediate medical attention.

Clary ran up to Jace and immediately pressed her hands against the injury attempting to stop as much blood flow as possible. She frantically pressed against different parts of the cut, not realizing that the tears threatening her earlier had actually spilled over and streamed down her cheeks. Jace raised his hand to her face and wiped away a tear. Clary stopped what she was doing but didn't look up at his face, she didn't know why but she was scared. Scared that if she looked at him now she wouldn't see Jace, she would see the man that had killed her dad.

"Umm," Clary finally managed to speak. "We- we need to remove your shirt so the fabric doesn't cause problems." Clary bit her lip but neither of them made a move to do anything. Still looking down, Clary spotted another dagger in one of Jace's holsters. She removed it from his side and cut away at the fabric surrounding his injury. Using the fabric she had cut away Clary created a small cloth and pressed it against the biggest part of the gash. She grabbed one of Jace's hands and pressed it to his own chest. "Hold that there and put as much pressure on it as you can."

Clary turned away from Jace and walked over to the now dead Valentine. She cringed as she bent down to him but she had to be sure he was actually dead. After checking for his pulse Clary stood back up and Jace walked up next to her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder but Clary still didn't look up at him.

"Clary," Jace said quietly. "It's ok now, we've won." Clary bit her cheek to fight back more tears as he spoke. "It's over."

But Jace didn't understand. It wasn't over for Clary, it could never be completely over for Clary.

 **YIKES... So a bunch just happened, but trust me the story isn't over yet, I've still got a bit more planned. I'm not entirely sure how much longer the story's going to be at this point though so I'm totally open to suggestions. I mean, what do you guys think is going to happen now? The war is over, Valentine's dead. Oh yeah, I just want to clarify that Clary is not _mad_ at Jace, y'all will see why she couldn't look at him soon.  
Welp, I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review and I'll update soon!**


	23. Victories and Conquests

**So first I just want to say that one of the guests (I wish I could respond to you) had a fantastic idea that I plan to use in an upcoming chapter. A lot of y'all had some super good ideas and I'm currently just trying to figure out what's going to happen next and how I could maybe incorporate some of your ideas. Anyway, here's the next chapter...**

It hadn't been long before Clary and Jace found Alec. They had rushed out of the palace after telling a few people the king was dead, they figured that the news would spread like wildfire. After getting into the city they had only walked a block or so before running into Alec. He had immediately taken them down to the Downworlder's hideout after seeing Jace's injury.

Upon getting into the hideout Clary and Jace had been split up. Jace was sent off to see some doctors while Alec thought that there was somebody Clary would want to see. He had ended up bringing Clary to Jocelyn and their reunion was full of happy tears. The two had talked for almost an hour and the strange thing was is that Clary found that talk to be more 'normal' than any talk she had with her mother before this whole mayhem.

Eventually, though Clary had to bring up Valentine's death. Alec had gathered all of the Downworlders who had stayed behind and Clary had told them about what happened. Jace wasn't there to help tell the story but Clary was almost thankful for that, she really wasn't in the mood to see him at that moment.

That had all been two hours ago though and now Clary sat on the roof of one of the shops in the city. She had a fairly good view of the castle from here but she couldn't see anything nor could she hear anything nor had anyone told her anything. Basically, Clary was currently sitting in the dark with the sun shining brightly over her head. She leaned backward and laid down on the roof just closing her eyes and letting herself relax for a bit.

It didn't last long though when Clary heard the door to the roof creaking open. She cracked open her eyes and sat up on her elbows. Clary turned her head to see who it was and Alec's smiling face greeted her. He pushed the door all the way open and took a couple step onto the roof.

"Come one," He said motioning for Clary to follow him. "We just got word, you and your mom have the castle back."

At that Clary stood up. She stood on her tiptoes for a moment trying to get a better glimpse of what had become her home in the past few weeks. Alec just laughed and grabbed Clary's arm. He started pulling her towards the door before she could protest.

When they were on the streets of Alicante Clary saw that just about everyone else was there too. She was quickly greeted by her mother again but as Clary looked around she still saw no sign of the golden boy. Strangely that was still a relief to her.

The group of Downworlders (along with Clary and the queen) began walking down to the castle. It felt really strange to Clary because everything seemed so empty. There were still commoners in the city, a lot at that, but they all seemed to have locked themselves in their homes. In that moment Clary thought of Simon. She suddenly grew very sad not knowing where he was or what had happened to him. She figured that he had to at least be alive though because of Valentine's horrid plan to kill all of Clary's friends in front of her.

Clary's mood didn't seem to settle as they reached the castle. The Downworlders that were in front of Clary opened up the doors and went ahead first. Clary and her mother entered warily and clung to each other tightly. Inside the foyer was messy, and by messy Clary meant that it was basically cloaked in blood. She grimaced but continued walking forward. She knew that the rest of the place had to look far worse than this.

There was an extremely emotional gasp though that pulled Clary from her thoughts. She turned to the sound to see Isabelle standing a little way away from her. Clary's hands flew up to her mouth when she saw her best friend. The two girls started running to each other at the same time. They collided in a hug and didn't let go for eternity.

"Izzy!" Clary cried in Isabelle's mangled hair. She could feel Izzy's body shake softly with sobs.

"Clary I was so scared, I was so worried about you," She croaked and Clary tightened her embrace.

"Me? I was worried about you. Valentine was going to kill you," Clary pulled away from Isabelle and looked her in the eyes. "I didn't know if they'd attack in time."

Isabelle nodded slowly but then looked around the foyer. When her gaze returned to Clary her eyes were even sadder than they had been before. "Has anyone found Simon yet?" Clary could only shrug in response. She had no idea and she was just as worried as Isabelle was.

"Anyone looking for a certain common boy?" Magnus' voice rang out through the foyer. Both Clary and Isabelle's heads whipped up to the direction of the voice. They saw Magnus on the other side of the foyer standing next to a very ragged looking Simon.

Isabelle and Clary began sprinting. They both tackled him in a hug at the same time and Clary was surprised that they didn't knock him to the floor. Simon wrapped his arms around both of them and the three stood like that for a full minute before any of them released the other. When they did back away Clary was the first one to speak.

"You look terrible," She said to Simon her voice a clear give away of how emotional she was.

Simon laughed. "Thanks, I've been with the rats for the past few days."

"Literally?" Isabelle exclaimed and Simon nodded. She grimaced. "That's harsh."

Simon shrugged. "I survived."

"And thank the Angel you did," Isabelle said pulling Simon into another hug.

* * *

Later that evening Clary sat on her bed clutching her pillow. She had spent the past several hours with her mom and her friends and now Isabelle was going to stay the night with her. Currently, Isabelle was brushing her hair in the bathroom. Clary sat deep in thought while her friend was grooming herself. So much had happened in this house and this room and now here she was sitting on her very own bed in her very own room in her mother's very own castle.

Clary couldn't but feel a little weird looking around. Not too long ago she had been prisoner in here and it almost felt like if she were to get up and try to leave the door wouldn't budge. Yet as Isabelle walked out of the bathroom everything felt normal at the same time. Like this was something they did all the time.

"I can't remember the last time I slept in an actual bed," Izzy sighed as she crawled into Clary's king sized bed beside her.

Clary raised her eyebrows. "It was just a few days ago Iz." She pointed out.

Isabelle stuck up her pointer finger as if to tell Clary to be silent. "Shush, to me it's been forever."

Clary shook her head at her strange friend but curled up in the blankets on her side of the bed. She reached out and turned off the lamp throwing the entire room into total darkness. Clary stared up at the ceiling as she felt Izzy toss and turn next to her trying to get comfortable.

"Iz?" Clary asked quietly.

"Yeah Clare?" Isabelle replied and Clary guessed she had found a good position because she stopped moving.

"I'm scared," Clary said it so quietly but she knew Izzy had heard her. Isabelle twisted where she was so that she was facing Clary and Clary turned her head to see the silhouette of her friend.

"Honestly," Isabelle said. "Me too. My dad is in prison, my mom is a complete mess, and I only just found out that my brother was a good guy pretending to be a bad guy pretending to be a good guy." Clary chuckled at that. "The point is," Isabelle continued. "We have every right to be scared right now. But it'll all work out eventually, trust me."

"How do you know that though?" Clary asked.

"I just do," Isabelle replied confidently. "I can feel it." She paused for a while before Clary saw her sit up a bit. "Here, tell me something you're currently scared about and we'll talk it through."

Clary followed suit and sat up a bit. She faced Izzy with her whole body as she racked her brain to pinpoint one direct fear. "I'm scared that the same thing is going to happen as before and the Circle still exists."

"Hmm," Isabelle thought for a moment. "That's actually pretty reasonable but I think that if that did happen we would just kick their asses again." Clary and Isabelle both laughed at that. "Okay, another one."

"I'm scared for my mom. She just found out that her husband was the ruler of an organization that tried to murder her and her daughter multiple times. Not only that but she has to rule all alone now."

"Okay I've got this one," Isabelle said and cleared her throat. "Queen Jocelyn is one of the strongest women I have ever met. If anyone can get through something like this it's her. And she won't be ruling alone, she'll have you, Clary." Clary's eyesight had begun to adjust to the dark and she could now see the genuine expression on Isabelle's face. "Alright, one more. Don't even think about this one, just blurt it out."

Clary nodded and took a deep breath. Then she said the first thing that came to mind. "Jace." Clary froze, even she hadn't been expecting that.

"Jace?" Isabelle questioned. "What do you mean Jace? Is he a current fear or did you just literally say the first thing that came to your mind?"

"I-" Clary fiddled with her hands. "I don't know if it's that I'm scared of him, but every time I think about him I feel like crying. I feel betrayed, hurt, not angry just... sad." Isabelle seemed to be stunned into silence. "It started right after he killed my dad."

"Clary, Valentine was about to kill both of you. He had literally almost murdered you a couple days before." Isabelle pointed out. "Jace saved you guys, he saved all of us."

"I know," Clary said timidly. "It's just- You have to understand that I've never had real parents before so to get Valentine and Jocelyn, it was like a blessing. And after Valentine's true self was revealed I hated him so much. Of course I wanted him dead but at the same time... he was still _my_ dad. You only get one father and I may not have gotten to grow up with him and he may have been an evil dictator but-"

"I understand," Isabelle suddenly cut her off. Her voice was quiet and almost sad. "I understand completely." Clary reached out and took Izzy's hand. She squeezed it comfortingly, she hadn't really thought about the fact that they were sort of going through the same thing.

"I've hardly been able to _think_ about Jace without wanting to throw up," Clary said trying to change the topics off their horrible fathers. "And it completely sucks because he was beginning to become a really important part of my life. I was beginning to actually trust him."

"It's ok," Isabelle said and Clary saw her lay back down in the bed. "Why don't we stop thinking about all this and try to get some sleep?"

Clary nuzzled her head into her pillow. "Sounds good to me..."

 **Hope y'all liked this chapter! I'll update soon!**


	24. Nightmares and Confrontations

**So here I am writing on my laptop right and it's pouring out. Now it wasn't storming at that moment but it had been a minute ago. Keep in mind through this that I have astraphobia. Anyway, the rain's pretty hard and I can hear the wind. So the lights start flickering and then they all shut off. Nobody was home, it was just me and so I'm here basically dying because 1) my laptop needs a new battery, it dies if it's not plugged in for more than 5 minutes and 2) the power just went out and I'm home alone. So I sprinted over to my neighbor's house cause I figured my parents would be there and they were. The power ended up being out till like 7 this morning. But yeah, I just thought I'd share that little story with you guys. I mean it wasn't so bad after a bit because it stopped raining after maybe half an hour. But I ended up writing like three songs with my neighbor and then I went to Walmart with another neighbor to charge my phone and then my brother and I just drove around for a bit. Fun times.**

 **Okay, that was long, sorry, but here's the next chapter. I hope y'all like it...**

"Mom, Luke, Maryse!" Clary smiled at the three adults as she entered the kitchen. They were all standing around the large island. Clary didn't think it strange that Luke and Maryse were here so early though. Most of the nobles and some Downworlders were going to be staying at the castle for a little while, just until things settled down. "It's nice to see you all."

"Good morning darling," Jocelyn wrapped an arm around Clary's shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head. "Would you like some pancakes? There's plenty."

Clary shook her head. "No thanks, I was just passing by. I'm really not hungry." She continued walking to the other door as all three adults gave her a sad smile. Clary tried to ignore it as she walked into the next room. She hated it when people looked at her like a hurt puppy. If she wanted sympathy, she would ask for it.

Clary could hear voices as she walked through the hall. She could recognize one of them as Magnus and another as Alec. Clary continued walking until she recognized the third voice and by that point, it was too late. Clary came to a small opening where she saw Magnus, Alec, and Jace talking. She had hoped that she could possibly just slip away but Alec caught her eye first.

"Clary," He smiled and Jace immediately turned around. Clary's eyes widened when he saw her. She didn't even think before she started running the other way. She could hear Jace call after her but the footsteps only lasted for a moment. At least he knew when to leave her alone.

Clary took a deep breath after rounding a corner. She slumped against a wall and listened intently to be absolutely sure that none of them had followed her. Clary closed her eyes and looked toward the floor. Her head whipped up though when someone cleared their throat. Simon stood in front of her looking far cleaner than yesterday.

"You alright there?" He questioned and Clary just shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just saw Jace is all..." Clary replied and Simon scowled.

"What did he do? Do I have to punch someone?" Clary chuckled and Simon smiled making it seem like it was his plan to make her laugh all along.

"No, he didn't do anything, I just," Clary looked down at her shoes. "I can't see him right now." She looked back up.

Simon nodded in understanding. "That's okay, everything _just_ happened. You're going to need some time to recover. We're _all_ going to need some time to recover." He put an arm around Clary and squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. The two started walking aimlessly through the castle.

"Thanks, Si. I just wish that I could at least _look_ at him without completely dying inside."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Clary shook her head. "I was able to vent to Izzy last night and I think I'm just about out of rants."

"Alright, then you can just listen to me."

"What do you have to rant about?"

"Oh, I don't know? Maybe the fact that Isabelle literally said she loved me right before we were all kidnapped and now she's acting totally normal!" Simon exclaimed and Clary chuckled.

"Ok, rant away."

"Right," Simon took a deep breath. "I mean I don't even know where to start. First off, how does a person just say something like that? We had just found out that the Circle still existed and she blurts out that bomb." Simon continued to rant about his love life and Clary found it nice to get her mind off of other things. She knew that sooner or later she would have to face her myriad of problems though. She was hoping for later.

The two continued to walk through the maze of hallways. Clary had her arm hooked through Simon's casually as she listened intently on what he was saying. She nodded her head occasionally just to show that she was listening but rarely did she ever comment. Eventually, though the two ended up looping all the way around the castle and into the throne room. Clary froze in the doorway and just stared ahead of her.

Memories of the night before flashed in front of her eyes. She could see herself standing in front of Valentine with her sword raised. Jace behind her with blood gushing from his wound. She could see herself being weak and bringing the sword back down. Valentine laughing at her, saying how he was right. And then Jace throwing a knife and the former king dropping to the floor. Dead.

There was still blood on the stone.

Simon stood in front of Clary. He put his hands on her shoulders and she could see that he was saying her name but she couldn't hear anything. All that Clary could hear was the thumping of a body hitting the ground. Herself crying as she tried to stop the blood coming from Jace's wound. Jace telling her it was okay. Valentine's heart not beating.

"Clary," Simon's voice finally cut through. Clary blinked and looked up at him. "Clary are you okay?" She didn't trust her voice so Clary just nodded. After a moment though she could feel a tear falling down her face and she shook her head. Simon hugged Clary tightly for just a moment before leading her out of the room. "Come on, let's go."

Simon kept his arm around Clary as he turned them around to leave. But before they could even take a step forward a group of people appeared in front of them. They were a bunch of Downworlders that Clary didn't recognize along with Luke, Alec, and- of course- Jace. Clary took an involuntary step back and Simon's arm ended up falling off her. She stared at the people in front of her with wide eyes that were undoubtedly red.

"Hey," Jace said softly and pointed towards the throne room. "We were just coming to-"

Clary didn't give him time to finish though. She pushed past Jace and all of the other people and ran just like she had when she saw him before. This time though when Clary stopped she bent over. She felt as though she was going to throw up but nothing would come out, probably on account of the fact that she had nothing to eat that morning.

Simon ran up behind Clary and put a hand on her back. He rubbed her back comfortingly until Clary stood upright again. She took a deep breath as Simon waited patiently for her to calm down and regain her composure.

"That seemed like a bit more than just 'nothing'." He finally said after several more minutes of silence. "You looked like you were going to puke. Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

* * *

JACE'S POV

After Clary ran off everyone looked confused. This was the second time she had run away from him _that day_ and Jace honestly had no idea. He turned back to Simon who just shrugged. After a moment though he grabbed Jace's arm and started going after Clary slowly.

"Follow me but don't let Clary see you," He instructed quietly. "She still hasn't told me what's going on and by the looks of it you don't know either."

"Thanks," Jace replied and continued to follow Simon as they went after the princess.

After a few more yards the two rounded a corner to see Clary bent over and breathing heavily. Simon quickly backed up pushing Jace behind the wall. He put a finger to his mouth to make sure he stayed silent before he rounded to corner again. Jace leaned against the wall quietly and waited for them to start talking.

"That seemed like a bit more than just 'nothing'." Simon finally spoke after about 5 minutes. Jace had just about looked around the wall to see if they were even still there. "You looked like you were going to puke. Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

There was another moment of silence before Jace heard Clary's voice. "I talked to Isabelle yesterday," She sounded strained and sad. "I don't know if I could handle talking about it again."

"Clary I really think you should," Simon insisted. "I hate seeing you like this and I know that Jace is probably distraught about the fact that you keep running from him."

"I know!" Clary exclaimed and Jace thought he could almost _hear_ the tears running down her face. "It's just whenever I see him I think about Valentine."

"Oh, that makes sense. You think about how Valentine almost killed him, how he almost killed you. That was a really scary experience, it's understandable that you don't want to think about."

"But that's just it!" Clary suddenly yelled and even Jace jumped a little. "It's not the memory of Valentine being evil it's the fact that Jace killed my father!"

Silence.

Jace completely froze where he was. He had never expected for her to say that. She hadn't seemed angry at him, especially not when the death had actually occurred. Jace didn't understand why she hated him because of this. At least he assumed she hated him, from everything that he was hearing he'd be surprised if she didn't.

"Wh- wha- what do you mean?" Simon stuttered after a while of his own shocked silence.

"You won't understand!" Clary exclaimed again and it sounded like she was pacing. "Isabelle understood the feeling of discovering your father was evil but still feeling the need to love him."

"Jace's father was evil too. In fact, Jace lost his father. Izzy at least still has hers, even if he is in jail for the rest of his life." Simon pointed out.

"That's different," Clary said. "Jace knew who his father was all his life. Jace even made the decision to let his father die. He knew the consequences of blaming Stephen for letting out the Downworlders! I never had a father and then when I got one I thought he was amazing. He was a king! What could've been better? Isabelle doesn't think I'm insane. But I'm sure you do and I guarantee that so would Jace and just about everyone else in this damned country!" Clary sniffled a little and she spoke softly again. "I'm going to my room, I'll see you later."

With that, Jace heard retreating footsteps. After they faded into the distance Simon slowly rounded the corner. A look of shock on his face that matched exactly how Jace felt.

"Well, now we know why Clary's been avoiding you," Simon said not looking directly at Jace. His eyes were wide and he stared blankly off into the distance.

Jace nodded. "Yeah, she hates me."

* * *

CLARY'S POV

For three more days Izzy slept over with Clary. For three more days Clary avoided Jace. For three more days the castle was full of the nobility. For three more days Clary stuck close to her mom whenever she could.

And for three more days everything was fine.

Then the nobles decided to leave. The Downworlders were going back to their own homes. Everything was beginning to truly settle down. Except that any and all noble children who lost both parents were going to be staying at the castle for a little while longer per the queen's order. That meant Jace. Clary didn't exactly have a problem with it though, it had been pretty easy to avoid him the past couple days. In fact, it had almost been like he was avoiding her too.

Clary's main issue was that the night after Isabelle went back to her own house Clary was alone for the first time since everything happened. She lied awake for most of the night staring up at the ceiling and when she did sleep she had nightmares. Terribly, horribly vivid nightmares.

They were all about that fight in the throne room. Every single dream was the exact same thing. Clary would dive for the sword but she would be too late in swinging it at Valentine. His blade would connect with Jace's neck and then he would kill her. Clary always woke up right before he drove the already bloody weapon through her heart. She woke up sweating and shaking two nights in a row.

The third night after everybody had left Clary tried to stay awake. She read a book, got a midnight snack, watched some tv. But eventually, her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. Clary fell into a deep sleep within moments and it hardly took any time at all for the nightmares to return.

Only this time they were worse than before because after Valentine killed Jace he didn't go after Clary. He left her alive and so she didn't wake up. In her dream, Clary had no sense of time but after a while, her body stopped believing it was a dream. She couldn't wake herself up so how could it be? Valentine towered over her, his face smug knowing he had just won the battle, as Clary kneeled over Jace's decapitated body. It was truly something out of a horror movie.

Tears streamed down her face. Jace's sword was behind her, long forgotten. Blood pooled around Clary's knees staining her pants and her hands. She closed her eyes and shook her head when she suddenly heard a voice. Clary looked up abruptly and glanced around the room. Everything seemed to be glowing white but it didn't seem to faze her. She continued to look around confused as the voice grew stronger.

"Clary, Clary wake up."

Clary bolted upright in her bed. She already knew that she was crying the moment she woke. The hand that had been shaking her shoulder lightly was taken off her but Clary didn't care to see who had woken her immediately. Instead, she pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes tightly. Her bed shifted as the person sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" This time Clary recognized who was talking. Her head whipped to the side so that she was looking at Jace. He was shirtless with plaid pajama pants on and his hair was sticking out in a thousand different directions. "You were crying in your sleep, and I-"

Clary didn't let him finish as she flung her arm around his neck. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and hugged him as tightly as possible. It took him a moment but he eventually returned the embrace. Jace rubbed Clary's back softly as she continued to cry into his shoulder.

"Hey," He whispered. "It okay. It was just a dream. You're alright. Everything's alright." All Clary could do was nod as she drew herself away from him. She hadn't actually spoken to Jace in 6 days so she didn't know what to say now. After another moment Jace slowly stood up and as soon as Clary realized he was going to leave she seemed to find her voice.

"Wait," She called out and Jace turned to her slightly surprised that she had actually spoken. Clary scooted over in her bed so that there was more room on one side. "Can you stay?"

Jace seemed to freeze for a moment. He almost looked confused at her request but he eventually nodded and walked back over to Clary's bed. Slowly he climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up over him. He was basically laying as far away from Clary as possible and wouldn't look at her. Clary rolled her eyes and couldn't believe what she was about to do.

She crawled over to where Jace was lying and cuddled up against him. She nuzzled her head against his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. For a moment Clary could hear that Jace stopped breathing. She was a little worried until Jace wrapped one of his arms around her waist and tucked the other one underneath her so that he was holding her against him. She smiled into his chest as Jace softly pressed his lips against the top of her head.

It was easy to fall asleep like that. And so Clary did. And it was a black sleep. No nightmares, no dreams whatsoever.

 **So much fluff! But y'all need to keep in mind that just because Jace is comforting her right now does not mean that everything is okay between them. He still thinks that Clary hates him and basically figures that she just needs someone right now and he was the first person she saw. BUT tell me what y'all thought and what you think might happen next. Hope y'all liked it and I'll update soon!**


	25. Announcments and Surprises

When Clary woke up she was cold. Her eyes fluttered open to see that she was alone. She sat up in her bed and looked around sadly to see that Jace had indeed left at some point. Then she glanced over at the clock, it was already 10 am. Slowly she got out of bed and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt. She left her room to instantly hear probably hundreds of voices.

People were milling about in the halls. They were down and upstairs. Clary started walking around to see dozens in the foyer, the kitchen, the ballroom, the library. People were everywhere and she recognized them as nobles, Downworlders, and commoners. She walked back to the foyer in search of someone she knew and ended up seeing Simon and Isabelle. They were talking near a stairway.

When Clary reached them she looked around at all the people again before turning to her two best friends. "What's going on?" She asked thoroughly confused by why all these people were here.

"The queen has an announcement," Isabelle answered.

"And it's raining out," Simon continued. "So she invited everybody inside the castle."

"What announcement?" Clary wondered aloud. Jocelyn hadn't told her about anything.

Isabelle shrugged. "No idea, she's been waiting for you to wake up."

"Speaking of which," Simon said. "You should go and find your mom. I think she was in the grand hall." Clary was about to turn away from her friends when she remembered why she had left her room in the first place.

"Have either of you seen Jace?" She asked and they both shook their heads.

"I'm pretty sure he's at the Herondale manor," Isabelle said after a second and Clary nodded. She walked away from the two and made her way to the grand hall where it turned out that most people were gathered.

Clary walked slowly through the room. Her eyes were wide as she took in all the people surrounding her. It appeared that everyone in Idris that wasn't imprisoned was here. Every thought Clary had slipped from her mind as she became more and more confused about what was happening. What was so important that literally every able bodied person in all of Idris had to be here? And yet Clary still didn't know what was happening.

It was only then that Clary realized everyone around her was dressed up. People wore beautiful gowns and glorious suits while Clary was in a pair of blue shorts and a band t-shirt that Camille had snuck in for her when she visited. Needless to say, Clary felt extremely out of place.

Just as she crossed the entirety of the grand hall and hit the opposite wall Clary heard someone say her name. Of course, it could've been literally anyone but she looked around for the source and quickly her eyes landed on Luke Graymark.

"Clary," He was smiling. "There you are. We've been looking everywhere for you." Without another word, Luke grabbed her hand and started dragging her from the crowd.

"What's going on?" Clary asked as she struggled to keep up. "What announcement is my mom making today? Why is everyone so dressed up? Luke answer me!"

"You'll see soon," Luke said without stopping. "But right now we need to worry about getting you in the right attire."

"What do you-" Clary was cut off when they reached a back room where Magnus was waiting with Alec. The sparkling Downworlder popped up from where he had been sitting and grinned widely at Clary.

"Perfect timing." He said as Clary looked around the room. There was a rack of ball gowns with matching shoes beneath them all and a desk covered in makeup and hair supplies. All Clary could do was the give the three men a confused look as Luke pushed Clary towards Magnus.

"Guys you're seriously starting to scare me," Clary did a 360 looking around. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" She looked at each boy individually. When her gaze landed on Alec he looked away immediately causing her to push further. "Alec? Do you really want to be keeping secrets from your princess?"

The Lightwood boy continued to refuse to look at Clary though he did speak. "We'll see you in a bit, Clary." Was all he said before he and Luke turned and left the room. They closed the door behind them leaving Clary alone with Magnus.

She raised her eyebrows at him expecting an answer but all Magnus did was grin. "First," He said turning to the rack of dresses. "We need to choose an outfit. Then hair and makeup. But we must do this all fast. The queen wants to make this announcement by noon."

"Magnus, what announcement?" Clary begged. "Please tell me the truth."

Magnus stopped running his hands over the fabric and turned to Clary. All he did was shrug. "Sorry biscuit, I don't know. Only the queen knows." He turned back to the colorful dresses and started pulling a few to examine them. "What I _do_ know is that I have orders, and those orders are to get you looking beautiful."

* * *

Roughly an hour later Magnus stepped away from Clary to examine his work. He smiled down at her before motioning his finger in a way that told her she could look in the mirror now. Clary slowly turned around to see that the girl before her looked like a true princess.

She was wearing a heavy blue ball gown that poofed out at her waist. Though she couldn't see them under the dress Clary was wearing 3-inch heels despite her protests that she would break her leg again. Her hair sat on her head in swirling curls of fire. Magnus had gone light on the makeup thankfully but Clary could still see the red on her lips and the pink on her cheeks. There was a thin line of eyeliner and her eyelids were faintly covered with gold.

Clary turned around to Magnus. "Thanks," She said sheepishly. "I actually look..." She trailed off searching for the right word.

"Beautiful," Magnus finished and Clary smiled brightly. "You always look beautiful though. Now come on, I'm sure your mom is waiting for you."

Magnus and Clary left the small room they had been in and went up to a stage-like platform that sat at one end of the grand hall. When they got there most people in the room didn't seem to notice or yet care, that they were there. Clary assumed that her mother had already been up there for a while so they all just continued to talk as they waited for her to start talking.

On the platform, Clary looked around to find her friends. The first person she saw was Alec. Magnus was approaching him and Clary didn't realize that he had left her side until she saw him out in the crowd. Besides the two were Simon and Isabelle. They both smiled up at Clary when she caught their eye. She gave them a weary smile back as she continued to look around for one other person.

Clary's heart dropped when she didn't find the familiar gold hair of Jace. She figured he must have still been at his parent's manor. Er- it was his manor now, she supposed.

"Darling," Clary'd head turned when her mom spoke. Jocelyn put her hand on Clary's shoulder and smiled. She admired how well her mother had managed the past week since Valentine betrayed her and died, but still, Clary could see the large bags under her eyes indicating her lack of sleep. They probably matched the circles Clary wore under her own eyes. "How have you been today?"

"Alright," Clary answered honestly.

"Well," Jocelyn said as she turned to a mic stand that had been placed in front of her. "I'm not entirely sure how you'll feel after this.

"This past week," Jocelyn spoke into the microphone. Her voice boomed out across the room and everybody immediately went silent. Clary stood quietly at the Queen's side. "Has been hard for us all. Many of you have lost loved ones, and our nation has lost its king. Indeed, this has been hard for us all.

"Which is why I thought that we could a fresh start. I've done much thinking lately, about what's best for Idris, what's best for the kingdom, for my daughter," Jocelyn glanced over at Clary and she suddenly felt every set of eyes on her. "I've consulted with my dearest friends and I've slept on this decision for the past couple of days.

"At the beginning of this long, long war I was forced to give up my only child. My husband and I were broken over that. It was the hardest decision we ever made, but recently I learned that the only reason it was hard for him was because he wanted to raise the child to be just like him. So now I'm gladder than I had ever been that she was sent away. I'd like to think that Valentine Morgenstern wasn't always the way he was, but I think we all know that's a slim chance."

Jocelyn paused and took a shuddering breath away from the mic that only Clary could hear. She only stopped speaking for a moment though but it was as if that moment lasted an eternity. Because the next words that spilled from her mouth changed everything. The room froze in silence as it sunk in and it took all of Clary's strength not to pass out.

"So I would like to step down from being queen, and in just a little over a week hold the coronation that will make Clarissa Adelle Fairchild the new Queen of Idris."

 **Hey, my Angels! Tell me what y'all thought. What did you think Jocelyn's announcement was going to be? Did you guess it halfway through the chapter or was that a total plot twist?  
I hope y'all liked this chapter! I'll update soon!**


	26. Rain and Manors

_"So I would like to step down from being queen, and in just a little over a week hold the coronation that will make Clarissa Adelle Fairchild the new Queen of Idris."_

The words ran through Clary's mind for the next three hours. She couldn't think of anything else. The moment that Jocelyn had made the announcement Clary had sprinted from the room. She couldn't believe that her mom would make a decision like that without her. This wasn't just affecting Idris it was affecting Clary directly. It was her life and she didn't know if she could handle that sort of pressure right now.

She had ended up in the garden outside the castle. Rain poured down around Clary as she sat under a tree. She was completely soaked from head to toe from running out here but now the tree was mostly shading her from the water. Her dress weighed her down and her hair laid flat against her back. Her makeup was running down her face but not from tears. Clary had cried herself dry days ago.

Clary picked a flower that was in front of her and twirled it in her hands. It had water droplets pushing down on its petals. Clary dropped the flower when a thorn pricked her finger. She looked down at the cut as a small stream of blood ran down her hand, thinned by the water.

That was what cracked Clary. She yelled in aggravation and grabbed the closest rock to her. She whipped it as hard as she could in no specific direction. She heard it clatter on the ground someone but didn't care enough to look up and see where.

"Woah," A voice said causing Clary to look up. "Quite an arm you got there." Alec was standing a little ways away from her with an umbrella. "Almost took off my head." Clary looked back down at her hand and ignored Alec hoping he would get the message that she wanted to be alone. "Okay, I get it. You want to be alone." But she heard him walk closer.

"So then why don't you leave?" Clary snapped looking back up. Alec shrugged and took another step closer.

"Because," He said. "Your friends are worried about you. No one knows where you went." He took another step and was now under the tree too. "And one really shouldn't be alone after everything that you've been through."

Clary sighed but didn't tell him to go away again. Truthfully it was nice talking to someone. "I'm not ready."

"Sure you are," Alec said with confidence. He crouched down so that he was more eye level with Clary. "If you're anything like your mom you're more than ready. Clary you're going to be a great queen."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're _Clarissa Adelle Fairchild,_ I may not have known you long but I know you well enough to see that you're strong, you're smart, you're talented. You can do anything if you just set your mind to it." Clary smiled at his praise. "But you also need your friends and your family. You can do anything but that doesn't mean you don't also need help occasionally, and right now your friends really want to help you."

Clary nodded her head slowly. That was exactly what she needed to hear and now she knew exactly what she needed to do. Clary looked back up at Alec, a new kind of determination behind her eyes. "Alec, will you take me somewhere?"

* * *

About half an hour later Alec pulled up in front of a manor that Clary didn't recognize. They were in the country where all the nobility lived. It had started to rain harder than before and now there were little bursts of lightning though no thunder followed them. Alec had agreed to drive Clary out of Alicante without question though he had wanted to tell Jocelyn where they were going. Clary didn't let him.

Now she took a deep breath as she prepared to get out of the car. She was still in her gown and she was still soaked but at this point, Clary didn't really care anymore.

"Clary," Alec said from the driver's seat. "I don't know what you're expecting to happen right now. He's been really closed off all week."

Clary shrugged. "I just want to talk to him. He doesn't even know I'm going to be queen yet."

Alec sighed. "Fine, but at least take-" Clary didn't let Alec finish the sentence as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. She could imagine what he was going to say though, _the umbrella,_ and Clary regretted not doing so as soon as she was in the rain. Because if she thought she was soaked before then she might as well have been a mile under the ocean now.

Clary began walking up to the manor but as she as she took two steps she remembered she was wearing heels. She quickly took them off and held them in her hand as she ran up to the front door. Once she was in the portico she took another deep breath. Clary raised her hand and rang the doorbell. She looked back over her shoulder to where Alec's car was. She had told him to just stay there and if she didn't come back out within 10 minutes he could leave.

About 30 seconds of waiting passed by before the door swung open. Jace stood before her in a simple t-shirt and jeans. He looked surprised to see her.

"Clary?" He said ushering her inside. "You're soaked. What are you doing here?"

Clary turned around to face him after taking a few steps inside. "I don't know."

"What do you mean?" He asked and just then he seemed to notice what she was wearing. "Why are you so dressed-" Realization passed over his face. "The Queen's announcement. I totally missed it. What did she say?"

Clary bit her lip and looked towards the ground. "I'm going to be a queen."

"Of course you are," Jace scoffed and Clary looked back up. "It's sort of a tradition for the princess to become the queen one day."

Clary laughed and shook her head. "I don't mean one day. I mean that next week, I'm going to be a queen."

Jace's mouth gaped. "What? Seriously?" Clary nodded. "That's amazing!" He walked towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. He was smiling widely and Clary thought that he was happier for her than she was.

"I guess," Clary shrugged and Jace furrowed his eyebrows confused.

"What do you mean?" Jace asked and put his hands in his pockets.

Clary turned away from Jace in an attempt to avoid the question. She began walking around the manor and looking at the decor. "I like your house," Clary said and she could practically hear Jace roll his eyes behind her.

"Clary, what's wrong?" He grabbed her arm gently and Clary turned back around towards him. She felt a little bad as she looked past him and saw a trail of water from her dress.

"I'm not ready to be queen," Clary said softly. "No matter how good Alec is at giving inspirational speeches it doesn't change the fact that I'm not ready. I'm only 18." At that Jace started laughing. It was a loud laugh, it was soft but it was clear that he found what she had just said hilarious. "What?" Clary asked a smile growing on her face. His laugh was contagious. When he continued to laugh louder Clary smacked him on the arm. "Jace what?"

He just shrugged and shook his head. "Only you wouldn't be able to see how amazing you are." A strong blush grew on Clary's cheeks and she looked down at the floor hoping her wet hair would hide her face. "Now you are seriously wet right now," Jace said more seriously. "Do you want to change? You can't be comfortable in that."

Clary looked up and nodded gratefully. "Please, this thing is already 20 lbs, the water adds an extra 10." Jace chuckled and led Clary upstairs.

He gave her a shirt and some sweat pants and showed her to a bathroom. After a long battle with her gown, Clary had managed to change into the sweats. She looked at herself in the mirror and immediately knew that the clothing Jace had given her must've been his. The pants were half a foot too long on her and the shirt could practically be a dress on her.

Clary didn't bother with her hair and left the bathroom to find Jace again. As she walked through a hall she caught a glimpse out of a window and saw that Alec's car was gone now. She continued on down the stairs, careful not to trip on the long pants.

When Clary got back to the foyer she noticed that Jace must've mopped up the water. She turned away from the foyer and began looking around in search of Jace. Eventually, she found him sitting at a table with a box in front of him. Quietly she approached him and took a seat across from him. Jace looked up as she sat down and stifled a laugh at how ridiculous she knew she looked.

Clary rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, laugh away. What you didn't have any women's clothing?"

Jace shook his head. "I may or may not have thrown out all of my mother's clothing in a fit of rage after I first arrived here this morning." He shrugged. "Sorry."

"What's that?" Clary wondered ignoring how ridiculous he was as Jace fiddled with some papers within the box.

"Just some of my dad's stuff," He replied and set the papers back down. Jace closed the lid of the box but didn't look up from it.

"I'm sorry," Clary said quietly the atmosphere was suddenly very serious. "That you had to watch my dad kill your dad."

Jace almost seemed to laugh. "Why?" He asked looking up. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine, I knew what would happen. If anything I should be apologizing to you."

Clary cocked her head. "To me?"

"Clary I murdered your father," Jace said bluntly but for some reason, the words weren't affecting Clary as much as they had been the past week. "Right in front of you too."

"I suppose," Clary said now looking down at her hands. "But a lot has happened recently. A lot that we can't take back. And he was about to kill both of us anyway."

Jace sighed. "Clary I know you hate me. You don't have to pretend. I heard you talking with Simon. I don't even know why you wanted to come here."

Clary looked up at him. She didn't know he had been listening in on that conversation, but of course, there were things she had left out. Stuff she had told Isabelle, stuff she hadn't told either of them. Clary was confused though, because out of everything she had said to Simon she didn't remember ever using the word 'hate'.

"I don't hate you," Clary said and Jace just stared at her. "I never said that I hate you. I never even alluded to the idea that I might hate you. And I came here because after finding out that I'm going to be the queen you were the only person I wanted to talk to, but you were also the only person that wasn't there." Jace looked shocked and almost confused, so Clary continued. "What I told Simon is that when I see you I think of Valentine's death, but what I didn't tell him is that when I think of that I get sad and I don't like the fact that I feel sad about the death of a man who would've murdered me in the blink of an eye. So then I feel sick. So yeah, I don't like seeing you but not because I hate you because I hate me and I hate Valentine."

After Clary finished speaking Jace stayed quiet for a long moment. Then he stood up and walked the short distance to Clary. He held out his arms and Clary stood up and wrapped her own arms around him. They stood in that embrace for a long moment.

"My dad forced me to be something I didn't want to be all my life," Jace spoke quietly still holding Clary. "But it was still heart wrenching to have him die. To _watch_ him die. To know that I was the reason he died." Jace stroked Clary's hair softly. "I miss him despite the maniac he was because he was still my dad. You're not a monster for being upset about what happened. In fact, I think it makes you _more_ human." Clary chuckled and it wasn't until Jace pulled away from her and wiped at her cheeks that she realized she had started crying.

"So you're not mad at me?" Clary asked still worried Jace would be judging her for being so upset.

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Mad at _you?_ No, I thought you were mad at _me._ "

Clary shook her head. There was a small smile on her face. "I could never truly be mad at you."

Jace grinned crookedly at that. He looked down at his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Good." There was a long pause. "So, Queen huh?"

Clary groaned causing Jace to laugh. "Don't even remind me. I'm sure that my mom is going to have a lot to talk about with me about that once I get back to the castle. I can't believe I'm going to have to rule all by myself."

"You won't be ruling by yourself," Jace said and Clary rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'll have my friends to help. I'll have Jocelyn to help. But-"

"No," Jace cut her off causing Clary to become confused. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

Jace suddenly grew oddly awkward and even seemed a little upset. "What I mean is that you're going to have to choose a king to marry. You can't just rule by yourself. Even when a prince would become King he would almost always have to find a wife right away. It's tradition to always have a king and queen, unless one dies."

"Oh," Clary said that realization not yet having come to her.

"Yeah," Jace continued and he started walking around aimlessly. "But knowing Queen Jocelyn I'm sure she'll try and let you choose your heart's desire. Though it would preferably be a young prince from another kingdom."

"Or a noble," Clary added remembering that the nobility were as close to royalty as possible. Jace stopped walking and half turned towards her. "It could also be a noble." There was a long pause where neither of them talked, the only noise was the harsh hailing of rain on the walls and roof. When Clary finally did speak again she took a step towards Jace and spoke carefully. "You never kissed me again after that one night."

Jace still didn't fully look at her. "I almost did." His voice was low but Clary could hear him fine. She thought back to a week ago when she was locked in her room.

"But you didn't," Clary took another step. "Why?"

"My family are known, traitors. I was a member of the Circle even if it was forced upon me. My mother is in jail and my father is dead. I'm not good for you." Jace finally turned fully to Clary. She was now only a few steps away from him.

"Shouldn't I get to decide what is and is not good for me?"

There was a loud boom just after Clary spoke. Both Jace and Clary looked towards the window as if by instinct as the house seemed to shudder from the deafening thunder. The rain was coming down harder and harder.

"I should probably take you back to the castle before it gets too bad," Jace said as they continued to gaze out the glass. Clary turned back to Jace.

"Are you kidding me? You wouldn't be able to see two feet out there!" Clary exclaimed. Jace looked at her and shrugged.

"I know the roads well," He said as he headed towards the foyer, Clary following him. "Besides, if you were to stay here I would be murdered 6 times over. First Alec, then Simon, then Magnus, then Izzy, then Luke, then your mom."

Clary rolled her eyes as Jace shoved a clearly oversized coat at her. "Oh please, Alec wouldn't kill you. You two are best friends."

Upon seeing that Clary was struggling with the coat Jace took it from her and pulled it over her arms. "You'd be surprised." He said still with his hands on the coat. Then, he pulled on his own jacket, grabbed some keys and an umbrella, and they were off.

 **I hope y'all liked this chapter! Review your thoughts. I'll update soon!**


	27. Sweats and Gowns

Clary burst through the front doors of the palace with Jace right behind her. He closed the umbrella as the door closed behind them with a bang. Despite having the umbrella for protection both of them were fairly soaked.

The drive over to the castle had been treacherous. Clary had no doubt that under normal circumstances Jace was a fantastic driver but outside in the storm the roads were slippery and it was almost impossible to see. There were no others cars on the roads which was definitely a plus but that didn't stop them from almost crashing several times. They had almost driven off the road and into a ditch twice and after reaching the city and the castle Jace gave up and parked on the sidewalk.

Now though they stood in the foyer of the castle. The sound of the door closing ended up drawing the attention of several people. While Luke and Jocelyn had been passing by Simon and Isabelle rushed down the stairs and into view. Even Magnus and Alec appeared around the corner. When they all saw Clary soaked to the bone with Jace they ran up to the two. Jace was shaking some water off the umbrella when Isabelle was the first to reach them... and slap Jace.

"Ow!" He exclaimed as the raven haired girl glared at him. "What was that for?"

"I can't slap Clary so I had to settle for slapping you." She said turning her gaze to the princess. "Where did you go!? You just disappeared after the announcement and no one sees you for hours! Alec said you asked him to drive you somewhere but wouldn't tell us where!" Isabelle pulled Clary into a quick hug making it clear she was happy the girl was okay. When she released her Isabelle's expression turned angry again. "Which brings me to my next point, you went out in _this_ weather?! What are you an idiot?!"

Clary raised her eyebrows at her friend. She didn't know what to say, she hadn't really thought out how she would explain where she had gone... and why.

"Sorry," Was all Clary could think to respond. It turned out to be the wrong this.

"Sorry?" It was Simon speaking now. "SORRY! Is that all you can say? We've been worried sick and now you show up with Jace and- ARE YOU WEARING HIS CLOTHES?!" Simon cut himself off as his eyes went wide when he saw what she was wearing. At this point, the other four had reached them and Jocelyn took Clary's arm before anyone else could question.

"Everyone calm down," Jocelyn said as she pulled Clary to her side. "I'm sure Clarissa has an explanation for where she was but right now we all have to remember that she's under a lot of pressure. Not only that but she is to be your future queen, I expect from now on that you'll start speaking to her in a kinder tone." Clary had to stifle a laugh when Simon and Isabelle mumbled apologies to her mom. "Good, now Clary I'll give you a moment to speak with your friends but I would like to have a talk with you soon."

Clary nodded her head. "Of course."

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit." Jocelyn rubbed Clary arm before turning and walking away with Luke. Once the two were out of sight everybody ganged up on Clary and Jace again.

"Explanation. Now." Isabelle growled looking back and forth between the two.

Clary shrugged. "Not much to explain. I wanted to get out of the castle so I asked Alec to drive me to Jace's house and after talking for a bit he decided that he should bring me back before anyone gets too worried."

"TOO WORRIED?" Simon exclaimed. "I've been worried since no one could find you! Now I find out you've been at Jace's house for the past few hours!"

Clary rolled her eyes but before she could say anything Alec spoke. "I only dropped her off there a little less than an hour ago. Relax."

"Okay..." Simon rolled his eyes. "But please explain why you're wearing his clothing."

"I was soaked in my dress and really uncomfortable when we got there so Jace offered me a change of clothing," Clary said simply. She glanced over at Jace only then realizing how quiet he had been this entire time.

Isabelle slapped Jace again before yelling at Clary, he threw his arms up incredulously but didn't say anything. "Well don't scare us like that. At least let us know you're alright, I mean I called your phone like 30 times."

"Oh," Clary said scratching her head as she thought. "I don't think my phone has even left my room today."

"Yeah," Isabelle scowled. "I found that out after an extensive search in your room... and the rest of the castle."

"Next time you need to talk," Simon said. "Find someone that's _in_ the castle."

"Or at least in Alicante," Magnus added. "Did you really have to go all the way out to the countryside?"

"Give her a break," Jace finally spoke and everyone turned to him. "Clary's been through a lot and right now the last thing she needs is all of her friends making her feel even worse. I mean at least wait a few minutes before you start badgering down on her. She made a mistake. Oh well. Let it go."

Everybody was silent after Jace finished speaking. They all looked down at their feet ashamed of themselves. Clary smiled gratefully up at Jace but he wasn't looking at her. In fact, it was almost like he refused to look at her.

"I guess," Clary said after a long moment of silence. "I should find my mom now. I'll talk to you guys later."

With that Clary turned away from her friends and went in the direction her mom had gone in. It didn't take long for her to find her mom. She was talking casually with Luke but when the two saw Clary Luke quickly bowed before departing. Clary kind of wished he'd stay though, she hadn't gotten much of a chance to get to know Luke. All she knew was that he's great friends with her mom and he was the one that brought her to America.

"Hello darling," Jocelyn greeted her and Clary soon stood in the place where Luke had been at her mother's side. They continued walking. "How are you?"

Clary shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Surprised?"

"Quite," Jocelyn laughed softly at that. She wrapped her arm around Clary's shoulder as they walked.

"I suppose you have some questions then," Jocelyn said. "I'm happy to answer them all but first I think I should inform you what this means." Clary nodded and so Jocelyn continued. "Just because I'm stepping down doesn't mean I won't be there to help you. I will be at your side throughout this entire process. Being queen means that you will have a duty to your country, your people, but most importantly to yourself. You will be in charge of virtually everything and there will be some hard decisions you need to make, especially with the war having just ended. People will have expectations but I have no doubt you'll live up to them. Next Wednesday is when the coronation will happen but there is much you will have to do in preparation for it. I'll get to all of that as it's happening though."

Clary listened quietly. She knew this would be hard but the thought of becoming a queen in just 10 days was insane. Yet the only thing going through Clary's head was what Jace had told her earlier. Would she really have to marry someone she didn't even know?

"Umm," Clary cut off her mom. "When did you marry Valentine?"

Jocelyn cocked an eyebrow at the odd question but soon seemed to realize what Clary actually meant by it. She chuckled as she squeezed her arm around Clary. "As queen, you have the right to choose anyone you want for the king. You don't have to pick right away of course and with our countries current situation you will likely need to choose a prince from another country."

"Just like Jace said," Clary muttered under her breath and the queen laughed.

"Of course," She said. "I should've known that's what the question was about."

"What do you mean?" Clary asked and Jocelyn stopped walking. She looked down at her daughter with a knowing smile.

"You weren't just talking about having a king you were talking about a specific _who_." Jocelyn nudged Clary playfully. "He's a great guy, but are you sure he's cut out to be king?"

"Mom," Clary turned to her with disbelief. "He saved your life, he rescued all of the Downworlders. He saved _my_ life. I'm pretty sure he's cut out."

Jocelyn laughed. "Does Jace know you feel this way about him."

"Yeah," Clary said though she wasn't entirely sure. "I mean I think so... I hope so."

"Well maybe you should sort that out before the ball we'll be throwing."

"Ball?" Clary questioned. She hadn't heard about any ball.

"I did just tell you you would have to choose a king, didn't I? A ball is the best and easiest way to gather all the eligible princes for you to meet them." Jocelyn explained.

"When will that be that be?"

"This upcoming Saturday." Clary's heart dropped. She smiled meekly up at her mom but she felt like she was going to pass out. "Now if you have any questions you always know where to find me, I'll let you get back to your friends now." Jocelyn turned and walked away from Clary. Her mouth gaped after her mom left and she just sort of stood there for a minute letting all that information sink in.

When she finally forced her legs to start moving Clary realized she had no idea where any of her friends had gone off to. She didn't even know where Jace was right now. But Clary was so invested in where they could all be that she almost didn't notice when she actually ran into one of them. Alec held out his hands to steady the young princess after she stumbled back from him.

"Alec! Hey," Clary said happy to see him.

"Hey Clary, you alright there?" He asked even as he brought his hands down.

"Yeah, and you know," The two started walking together. "I actually sort of wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I just wanted to say thanks, for helping me and driving me to Jace's."

"Of course," Alec said it like there was no question in the matter. "Was that all?"

"No," Clary spoke slowly trying to figure out if there was, in fact, anything else she wanted to say. "We never really talk. I feel like I'm really close with your sister but not you. So, let's talk." Clary took Alec's arm and pulled him over to a stairway that was nearby, she sat pulling him down alongside her.

Alec raised an eyebrow at her but he was smiling. "What do you want to talk about?"

Clary shrugged. "Anything, anything but the war. Let's get to know each other, Alec. Tell me one thing about you and I'll tell you something about me, then we repeat."

Alec chuckled. "You're a very interesting person, Clary."

"Thanks," She beamed. "You're not half bad yourself."

 **Hey, I hope y'all liked this chapter! I got a review saying that somebody loved the part where Alec and Clary just talked so I figured I'd add another, even if it's not showing their actual conversation I think that they're going to start growing closer as friends now. Anyway, please review and I'll update soon!**


	28. Shopping and Planning

Clary sucked in a deep and sudden breath as the strings of the corset she was currently wearing were yanked tighter. She let out a small grunt trying not to let show how much she currently hated this. There were about three seamstresses in the room working on making Clary's dress for the ball perfect. Isabelle was also there though she did nothing but just watch as Clary was tortured.

"Clary you need to stop moving so much," Isabelle instructed looking up from her phone. She put her hands on her hips as Clary wiggled around.

"You're not the one who can't breathe right now," Clary huffed and Izzy rolled her eyes. "This thing is _so_ tight."

"Trust me," Isabelle said circling the dress to get a better look at the progress so far. "I know how you feel. But you just have to suck it up because like it or not you're going to have to wear this for several hours tomorrow. You will be dancing, conversing, and meeting princes in this. So get over it."

Clary scowled but did her best to remain rigid in posture. The seamstresses were gently working on the dress so Clary wasn't in any discomfort but she was beginning to grow sick of standing. She couldn't wait for all of this to be over though she had no doubt that her future would likely force her to wear numerous more dresses. At least she would have some say in what she wore when she was queen. Isabelle would likely try to control her and she would probably succeed at least a little but Clary would overall have the final word.

For the past few days, this dress had been being worked on. It was supposed to be finished today for the ball was being held tomorrow. Clary had been so stressed lately with all the planning that she had hardly had time to think about the actual ball itself. But now that it was staring her right in the face it seemed to be the only thing she could think of.

There was a sudden knock on the door and it opened slowly. Simon appeared and when Isabelle didn't object to him entering he closed the door behind him. "Hey, I was told to see if you guys needed anything and to measure Clary's head."

"Measure my head?" Clary questioned. "What for?"

"To make sure the crown is the right size," Simon answered. He walked over to a table and picked up a measuring tape. One of the seamstresses took it upon herself to take the tape from him and measure Clary herself.

"She's about a 6.5," The girl said handing the measuring tape back to Simon and continuing with what she had been doing before.

Simon set the tape back down as Isabelle spoke. "Thanks, Si but I think we're all good here. In fact, it shouldn't be but another hour before we're done."

"Okay," Simon began heading back to the door. "I suppose I should get going then."

"You can stay," Isabelle said quickly, Clary imagined that it was a little too quickly in her mind. "If you want to."

Simon smiled back at Isabelle but didn't step away from the door. "I would but I can't, I have to run a few errands for the Queen."

"Oh okay." Was it just Clary or did Isabelle seem disappointed?

"I'll see you later though Izzy. 6 o'clock, right?" A smile accompanied by a blush appeared on Isabelle's face.

"Yeah." Simon just nodded before leaving the room. Isabelle tried to hide the rising smile on her face by busying herself with studying Clary's dress but of course, Clary saw it.

"What was that?" Clary questioned with a suggestive grin. Isabelle kept her head down.

"What was what?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about. What just happened between you and Simon. What's going on there?"

Isabelle shrugged shyly, Clary did not know her as someone to be shy. "After everything that happened Simon and me sort of got to talking and since I had previously confessed my love for him there wasn't really a point in denying it any longer and well..."

"Don't stop there!" Clary exclaimed. "Well what? What happened next?"

Isabelle looked up at Clary. "We're going on a date tonight."

Clary squealed loudly and stepped down from the step stool she had been on. The seamstresses all groaned in objection but Clary didn't really care. She took her friend's hands in her own and squeezed them.

"I can't believe this, I'm so happy for you!" Clary's wide smile now matched Isabelle's.

"I know! I'm so excited but I'm also really really anxious." She admitted and Clary scoffed.

"Oh, you'll be fine, just treat it like any other time when you two are hanging out." Clary let go of her hands. "You two are perfect together." All Izzy could do was smile widely. "I say that I get out of this horrendous thing and we go out shopping for a bit to find a new outfit for your date tonight."

"Wait," Isabelle seemed taken aback. " _You_ want to go _shopping_?"

"For this occasion? Yeah." Isabelle squealed. "So give me ten minutes to get into street clothes and then we can go."

Several minutes later the seamstresses had reluctantly helped Clary out of the large gown. She threw on jeans and a t-shirt before quickly tying her hair up in a messy bun and heading out to the foyer where she was supposed to meet Isabelle. When she got there the girl was waiting patiently for her.

"Ready to go?" Izzy wondered even as they headed out the large front doors.

"You bet," Clary said cheerfully. She wasn't fond of shopping, that much Isabelle had been right about, but if it meant it would make Izzy happy and that she could get away from some of her royal duties then she'd go.

"Okay, but first," Isabelle stopped the two of them the moment they were out the doors. "We've gone out enough for you to know that you're not allowed to leave without a bodyguard, right?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Yes..."

"Good... because I already called Alec." As if on cue Alec jogged up the steps of the palace and walked up to them. Clary smiled at him once before turning to Isabelle.

"Just Alec?" She wondered, usually, Izzy called for both Alec and Jace.

"Ouch, am I not good enough?" Alec commented sarcastically and Clary punched him in the arm without looking away from Izzy.

Isabelle chuckled at Alec before responding. "Yeah, I just thought with everything going on Alec was all we'd need."

She hadn't said his name but clearly Isabelle was thinking of Jace too, and clearly, she thought it would've been awkward had he tagged along. In truth, Clary hadn't actually seen Jace much the past few days and she missed him. She didn't know how she was going to get through this whole marriage business without him.

"Alright," Clary tried her best not to show any emotion that would allude to her being upset about it. "Then let's go."

* * *

An hour and a half later the three were still wondering the city. They had been to three stores so far and had taken about half an hour at each. Clary could tell that Alec was beginning to grow bored and impatient with them. So, she decided that it might be a good time to take a break and get something to eat at a certain bakery with a quite eccentric Downworlder owner.

"Is it a thing that I can not pay for stuff?" Clary wondered aloud as they entered the bakery. "Because in every movie I've ever seen the royal family doesn't have to pay for jack."

"I guess so," Isabelle said. "But I wouldn't know, my entire life there has been a war. Your parents were paying for everything then."

"Hmm," Clary took a seat at one of the few empty tables. Isabelle sat across from her and next to her brother. She was about to speak again when Magnus suddenly appeared at their table. He smiled brightly down at the three clearly happy to see them.

"Princess Clarissa, Isabelle, Alec," He gazed at each of them in turn. "So good to see you guys, it's been a while."

"Mags you saw us yesterday," Clary said remembering when he had shown up to the castle just to say hi the day before.

He merely shrugged as if it didn't count. "Doesn't matter, any amount of time that we're not together is too long." Clary smiled back at him but her gaze drifted over to Isabelle when she noticed the way Alec and Magnus seemed to be looking at each other. The girls both had to stifle a laugh at how obvious their infatuation for the other was. "Anyway, I'm assuming you guys are hungry. What do you want?"

"Oh can we just get a small chocolate cake and two forks," Isabelle said immediately without evening consulting with Clary. "And then Alec is actually healthy so he probably doesn't want anything."

From beside her Alec just shook his head but stayed silent. Magnus chuckled. "Okay, I'll be right back with that." Magnus disappeared for but 10 seconds before reappearing with a small chocolate cake. He set it down on the table and before anyone could speak he turned to Alec. "Alexander, could I speak with you for a moment? Privately?" He motioned to the back room with a small jerk of his head.

Alec stuttered for just a moment before glancing over at Clary and Isabelle and then standing up hesitantly. "Uh yeah, sure."

"Great, it was nice seeing you girls." Magnus smiled at them once more before walking away with Alec. Isabelle and Clary watched them disappear before they burst out laughing at the same time.

"Alec is so unaware it's hilarious," Clary said.

"I know," Isabelle laughed. "My brother really needs to open his eyes every once in a while. Though I have a feeling that whatever Magnus says to him in there will do just that." Isabelle widened her eyes suggestively as she picked up a fork and took a bite of the small cake. Clary laughed again before doing the same.

For the next couple of minutes, the girls sat in the small bakery talking and eating. Alec was still in the back room with Magnus when Jace walked past the bakery. Though neither Clary or Isabelle saw the golden boy he noticed them sitting by the window. He stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow before entering the place and approaching the two.

"You realize you're not allowed out of the castle without someone with you, right?" His sudden appearance startled both Clary and Isabelle making them jump a little. "Even if Valentine is dead and all known members of the Circle are locked away. The fact that you're about to become queen simply cancels both those facts out." He crossed his arms over his chest."

"Calm down Herondale," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Alec is with us."

Jace raised an eyebrow at her before looking around exaggeratedly a moment. "Oh I'm sorry, did I miss the part where my best friend became invisible?"

"Don't be a smart ass, he's talking with Magnus." Isabelle looked around now too. "Somewhere..."

"Right... what are you two doing out anyway? I thought you were supposed to be preparing..." Jace trailed off looking away from Clary.

"For the ball?" Clary finished and his gaze returned to her. "I was, but I decided to take a break and go shopping with Izzy. It is a very important occasion after all."

"Really?" He asked and Clary nodded. "Did she force you? Is there some sort of chain around both your ankles forcing you to follow her everywhere?" Clary didn't even answer she simply glared at Jace giving him all the answer he needed. He scoffed. "Wow, that's surprising."

"It was surprising to me too," Isabelle said. "But here she is."

"So I see," Jace decided to sit down beside Isabelle before continuing to speak. "But what's the important occasion you mentioned?"

Clary grinned like a maniac and looked over at Isabelle who simply blushed and looked down at her hands. "Izzy has a date."

Jace seemed unimpressed. "So?"

"With Simon," Clary said the boy's name in a sing song tone while staring at Isabelle. She looked back over to Jace who simply raised an eyebrow at them.

"With rat face? Why?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Could you maybe show an emotion other than empathy every now and then? It's a big deal."

"I'm not always empathetic," Jace said apparently ignoring her actual point in the statement. "Just when something doesn't particularly matter to me."

"Or when it matters too much..." Isabelle spoke under her breath so softly that Clary almost didn't hear it. Jace turned his body to her and furrowed his eyebrows.

"What was that?"

Isabelle shrugged. "It's just that whenever something actually matters to you you act like it's the last thing on your mind and you couldn't care less. And don't deny that because we both know it's true." Jace rolled his eyes turning away from Izzy. "I could give you a dozen examples."

"Fine, name one. Name the most recent one."

Isabelle opened her mouth but then closed it after glancing over at Clary. She tapped her fingers on the table. "I changed my mind, I'm not giving you an example."

"Because you don't have one."

"No I do, and it's a damn good one, I'd just rather not say it right now." She glanced back to Clary again and then at Jace. Clary could imagine what Izzy was talking about now. Herself. She guessed Jace was thinking the same thing because he suddenly got very quiet and wouldn't meet her eye.

They were saved from sitting in their awkward silence for any longer though when Alec entered the room. Jace stood up the moment he saw the boy clearly seeing it as an excuse to leave. "Right, I will see you guys later. Isabelle, Princess." He nodded his head to each of them in turn before leaving the bakery and patting Alec on the shoulder on his way out.

"What was that about?" Alec questioned as he took his seat. He glanced out the window at Jace's retreating figure.

"Just Jace being Jace." Isabelle sighed. "I suppose we should get back to shopping soon."

"I can't," Clary said standing up. She suddenly didn't feel like going shopping anymore. "I still have some things I need to go over with the Queen. But I hope your date goes well Iz."

Isabelle smiled meekly up at Clary. "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye Alec. Thanks for coming out with us."

Alec just shrugged. "Did I really have a choice?"

Clary laughed. "No, but thanks anyway. I'll see you guys later."

With that Clary left the bakery. She let out a shuddering sigh once she was on the streets. It took her a moment to realize that she was alone now, it was odd that Alec hadn't insisted on following her but she supposed that the streets were safe enough and he could tell that she just wanted to be alone. Tomorrow was going to be rough. A ball and scores of princes. She was just lucky that the nobility was allowed to come because without Isabelle Clary was sure she would crack under the pressure. On the other hand with Jace there, Clary was sure she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.

Tomorrow was going to be rough indeed.

 **Hey, my dragons! So so sorry it's been a month since my last update but I just became so invested in Design and came up with a million and one ideas for Rivals. Plus schoolwork and my social life. I've bitten off more than I can chew at the moment but I am determined to swallow.  
Anyway, I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review and I'll try to update soon!**


	29. Choices and Princes

**Just a disclaimer: I will be using Shadowhunter last names for the princes but all the first names and the actual characters will be made up.**

"Remind me again who would be our best allies," Clary said as she paced. In just half an hour princes would begin to arrive and half an hour after that Clary would be making her entrance. She didn't think that she would end up actually liking any of the men so she figured she would choose someone whose kingdom would be valuable as an ally.

"We are already allied with several but we do need to unite with a few," Jocelyn answered. "Clary you shouldn't be worrying about that though, worry about who you like."

"Fine just point the kingdoms out as I'm meeting them," Clary said and could practically feel her mother roll her eyes.

"Clarissa stop," Jocelyn put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You're going to tire yourself out before the night even begins. Just relax, darling."

"I can't," Clary whined shrugging her mom's hands off her. Instead of continuing to pace though she sat down on the couch. Her large gown poofing up as she did so. The dress really did turn out incredible. It was red with the crest of the royal family designed all around the bottom of it in gold. It had a sweetheart neckline and the sleeves were off shoulder. It ruffled out in the back creating a short train that flowed behind Clary. Her hair had been pinned atop her head in spiraling curls and she was wearing light make up much to her dismay. All in all, she looked like a princess. "I'm just so anxious."

"I know, sweetheart, but you aren't making things better for yourself by freaking out. Just take a deep breath. In," Clary followed her instructions and sucked a breath in. "Out." She breathed out and Jocelyn sat beside her. The Queen was wearing a golden gown that flowed down her body, it wasn't tight yet it wasn't poofed out like Clary's. She envied that her mother didn't have to die under a dozen pounds of fabric. "Good, now I want you to keep doing that while I go do something. I promise that I'll be right back."

Clary nodded still taking deep breaths as her mom stood back up and exited the room. Before the door could even fully close behind her though it was reopened by Isabelle who came rushing in with too much excitement.

"Some of the princes are already beginning to arrive!" She exclaimed and Clary leapt up from her seat.

"What?!" She squeaked. "So soon? But I'm not ready, it's not time, I can't- I-"

"Clary," Isabelle scolded. "You still have an hour before you have to go out there. Nothing is changing other than the fact that we can spy on who arrives."

Clary cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"Yeah, since they're arriving early we've got plenty of time to kill." Isabelle grabbed Clary's wrist. "Follow me." She lifted up her navy blue dress with her free hand as she began walking briskly out to a room Clary wasn't particularly familiar with. Isabelle pushed open the doors to a balcony and stepped out into the warm sun with Clary in tow.

There were hardly any clouds in the sky and despite the sun being rather low as the day turned to evening it was still hot. Clary had already begun to sweat before she even looked down at the streets below. There were numerous limousines coming in through the large circle drive and stopping in front of the steps of the palace. Clary watched as a man got out and opened up another door. Another man, this one dressed in royal gear, began making his way up the steps. He was followed by an older man Clary assumed to be his father, the King of wherever they had come from.

As they walked up the steps Clary noticed that knights were lining either side all the way up to the castle. Since all of the knights were noblemen Clary recognized all of their faces if not all of their names. She did spot Luke at the top of the line though. Further down stood Alec and just a few men from him stood Jace.

The golden boy held his hands behind his back and his posture was rigid though Clary could see even from here that his eyes followed the prince all the way up the palace steps. Once the boy was inside his gaze flickered down to the ground for a long while. When he looked back up his eyes wandered up the castle and found where Clary and Isabelle stood. They locked eyes for a brief moment before Clary tore her gaze away looking back down at the next limo rolling up. When she looked back at Jace he was facing forward again, his jaw hard.

Clary sighed looking back to the prince. She watched silently as he and many others arrived. The night was to be a long one.

* * *

The last of the royal families had been introduced to the crowd as Clary stood behind a closed door waiting to be introduced herself. Isabelle was no longer with her and even her mom wasn't going to be walking out with her. Clary just prayed to God that she wouldn't trip walking down the stairs. She was fiddling with her hands when there were footsteps from behind her.

"Princess." Clary whirled around to see Luke approaching her.

"Luke, what are you doing back here?" She wondered as he reached her side. He smiled.

"I suppose I'm stepping in for the King," He answered and Clary gave him a questioning look. "At an event such as this usually your father would have escorted you out to be introduced. The Queen asked me to do so instead."

Clary's lips began to tug upward in a small, grateful smile. "Then I guess we should be heading out."

"I guess we should." Luke smiled as he held out his arm for Clary to take. The two turned to the doors just as a voice boomed from the other side introducing Clary. The double doors were opened for them by a pair of guards and Clary was extra grateful for Luke to be there the moment she caught sight of what was on the other side.

The royal families stood around intermingling with the nobility of Idris. The place was almost as packed as it had been at Clary's homecoming ball but now the room seemed to be filled with a much more toxic atmosphere. Everyone here viewed themselves as more important than everyone else, it was a clashing matter of opinion everywhere. They were all there to impress Clary and try to win her hand. The moment that thought occurred to her Clary faltered. When Luke noticed he placed his other hand over the one of Clary's that he was already holding. She looked up at him and he smiled encouragingly.

Clary continued walking trying to ignore the hundreds of eyes on her. She scanned the crowd and saw that most of them were unfamiliar faces. Either princes or kings and queens of other kingdoms. There were also advisors with some of the kings. But when Clary finally found Isabelle she let out a large sigh of relief. The girl smiled brightly when they locked eyes and gave her two thumbs up. Clary resisted the urge to laugh at how enthusiastic she was.

When they were finally down all the steps and Luke had to leave to find Jocelyn Isabelle rushed over to Clary immediately. She hooked her arm through the princess' as they began wandering aimlessly about.

"You did fantastic, Clary, and you look amazing. I think I saw some of the prince's jaws hit the floor." Clary chuckled at that but couldn't help keeping her head low. She was bound to be approached fairly shortly by a prince.

"Thank you, Izzy, I just wish I felt amazing right now. I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"Just stick with me and you will be just fine."

The first prince to speak to Clary was named Andrew Malatesta and had blonde hair and blue eyes. They spoke for a short while before Clary was met by another prince named Ryan Chaudhury with black hair and deep brown eyes. This pattern continued for another hour until Clary had met about 10 princes. Still, there were many more to encounter.

Clary was standing off to the side with Isabelle watching people dance. It was clear to Clary that Isabelle wanted to dance, she probably wished that Simon were here so they could together. Clary made a quick mental note to ask Izzy about her date the night before when she realized they hadn't spoken about it. She really had never danced before though and was fascinated with the beautiful movements of the nobles and royalty. The girls stood in silence but the quiet was broken when someone cleared their throat from a few feet away. Alec held out his hand to his younger sister with a short bow.

"Lady Lightwood, would you care to dance?" He asked respectfully and Isabelle giggled before taking his hand. Alec had likely also noticed Izzy's clear desire to dance.

"I would love to, Sir Lightwood." She took a step forward but then glanced back at Clary. "Will you be alright on your own?"

Clary nodded. "I'm fine, go and dance."

Isabelle simply nodded before disappearing in the crowd. Clary watched after them for a moment before gazing around. She smiled at the sight of her own mother laughing at something as she danced with Luke. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and yet Clary couldn't spot the one person that would make this evening enjoyable for her.

"My Lady," Clary jumped as someone suddenly spoke next to her. He seemed to stifle a laugh at her reaction. He had soft gray eyes and chestnut brown hair. He was taller, probably about Jace's height. "I figured I should probably introduce myself and try to make an impression. My name is Brendon Trueblood." He took Clary's right hand in his own and lifted it kissing it gently.

"A pleasure to meet you, Brendon," Clary said attempting to smile but she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Likewise Clarissa, I-"

"Am going to stop you right there," Clary finished holding up her hand. "Call me Clary, please."

Brendon chuckled. "Will do, Clary." The way he said her name made it seem almost mocking but jokingly, of course. "But as I was saying I'm sorry for your loss and for everything that you've had to go through. Idris' Civil War was terrible but I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for you. I mean you grew up in America," He shivered dramatically. "Ugh."

Clary laughed. "It wasn't so bad," She said and Brendon raised an eyebrow. Clary rolled her eyes. "Okay, it was pretty bad." He laughed a little at that. "But it's not like I had the worst life in the world and plus, it's all behind me now."

"I suppose that's true," He said. "But you have to tell me what it was like growing up not knowing who you really were."

"Well I was in Foster Care," Clary said after thinking for a moment. "So I moved around a lot. Public school _sucks_ and people are the absolute worst. Most people were often tight on money and there were many times when I had to share a room with multiple other kids. It was hard to make friends since I moved around much and I was often stressed from the amount of schoolwork I had on top of getting a part time job. But still, I'd say it beats people trying to kill you." At the last part Clary looked up at the prince with a smile and they both started laughing.

Clary was about to open her mouth to say something else when she felt a pair of hands slip around her waist and someone whisper in her ear.

"Hi." A shiver went down Clary's spine as she recognized the voice. She spun around immediately, her face lighting up at the sight of Jace.

"Jace!" Clary exclaimed happily but mentally slapped herself. She cleared her throat and forced her smile to fall as she acted more calmly remembering that she was still in the presence of one of her possible suitors. "I mean, Lord Jace, how nice to see you." She turned slightly and took a step back so that she could be facing both Prince Brendon and Jace.

Jace grimaced at what she called him. "Ugh, 'Lord'. I suppose I am a lord now that both my parents are dead." He said it so casually that the surprise was present on Brendon's face.

"That sounds terrible," He said. "What happened to them? Casualties of the war?"

Jace turned to Brendon as if just noticing him. He eyed the boy for a moment seeming unimpressed. "Who's that?" He questioned like he didn't know the boy was a prince. Clary didn't know what was going on with Jace right now but she could tell that he was in the mood to make rash decisions. And he didn't even seem drunk.

"Prince Brendon Trueblood," Clary answered then turned to Brendon. "This is Jace Herondale, he is of the nobility."

"Nice to meet you, Jace." Brendon held out his hand in a polite gesture but Jace made no move to shake it. In fact, he looked at the boy like he cow dung.

"I wish I could say likewise," Jace commented and Clary's eyes widened as she froze in place. She had absolutely no words right now and was terrified of what might happen next.

"Excuse me?" Brendon questioned angrily crossing his arms over his chest.

Jace shrugged. "It's just that I've never been very fond of pretentious, stuck up royalty and you seem to be no acceptance." Clary wanted to say something. She dearly wanted to stop Jace right now but for some reason, she seemed to have lost the ability to speak. So instead she watched with wide eyes praying that this wouldn't become a fight. "Clary's too good for the likes of you. So why don't you just go back on home across the ocean?"

"I could have you killed for saying that to me," Brendon fumed. "And what makes you think you have the right anyway? You have no idea who I am therefore you have no right to make any such claims. And what, you think that _you're_ good for Clary?" He scoffed. "She'd be better off with a dog than with you. At least a dog is a desirable companion."

The moment Clary saw Jace's hands ball into fists it was like she was unfrozen. She stepped between the boys and faced Jace. Clary grabbed both of his arms just as he began to raise one of them. He continued to stare angrily at the prince even as Clary spoke to him.

"Jace stop." Her voice was an infuriated loud whisper. "Look at me." She demanded and after a moment his eyes flickered to hers. She was surprised by the amount of vulnerability in them. "Stop." The fire in his eyes seemed to simmer down a little after Clary spoke. He pulled his hands out of Clary's gently but still with force. He tore his gaze away from Clary's and it made her heart throb. The fact that he wasn't looking at her actually physically hurt.

"My apologies, princess," He said after a moment. "Now if you two would excuse me I should find Alec." Jace turned and walked away though Clary figured he probably knew that Alec was currently dancing with his sister. Clary couldn't help looking after Jace even as the prince began speaking again.

"It's amazing to me how rude people can be nowadays," He said. "But before the noble arrived I was planning on asking you to dance." At that Clary looked back at Brendon. "Would you?"

Clary smiled politely. "I would love to," She said and Brendon held out his hand for her to take but Clary ignored it as she began to walk away. "But first there's something I have to do. I'll be right back." Without another word, Clary lifted up the skirt of her dress to the best of her ability and attempted to run after Jace. People parted for her as she went but it was still incredibly difficult to get through the crowd in such a large and heavy gown.

When she finally did catch up to the swift blond he was out of the main mass of people. Clary grabbed Jace's arm stopping him just before he could leave the actual ballroom. He looked infuriated and possibly annoyed that Clary had gone after him. She really didn't care though.

"What the hell was that?" Clary demanded gesturing back in the direction they had just come from. "And don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. What is wrong with you tonight?"

Jace shrugged. "I simply don't like Prince Brandon."

"Brendon," Clary corrected but Jace continued acting as if she had said nothing.

"Nothing is wrong with me, in fact, I think it's Royal Bradly that's something's wrong with. You shouldn't be talking to the guy."

Clary rolled her eyes. " _Brendon._ And why? What's so wrong with him, he seemed just fine to me. In fact, he was nice, had a decent sense of humor, and was actually quite good looking. So unless there's something I'm missing I don't understand what's so bad about him." Clary could see Jace's jaw tense up at her words. She knew exactly what she was doing to him right now and yes, she felt a little bad but he deserved it for acting how he did.

"Fine then," Jace spat. "Dance with him, get to know him a little, talk all night long. _I don't care_." Clary did her best to keep her face emotionless but she couldn't deny that the last part hurt. "Marry the guy, marry any one of them. It's your life, not mine."

Jace turned on his heel and continued walking. Clary burst with rage right before he could leave. "Don't do that!" She yelled but immediately lowered her voice as not to draw attention to them. "Don't act like you don't care about something when you obviously do! I hate it, I hate it so much because you know damn well that I don't have much of a choice. So be angry, be as angry as you want but don't try to blame it on me because if I did have a choice you know exactly what it would be!"

With that, she spun back on her heel and walked away without waiting for Jace to respond. She looked upward as she went to keep any tears that threatened to spill over at bay. By the time Clary was almost back to where she had left Brendon she had regained her composure but no longer wanted to dance. She would have to suck it up though because she couldn't very well leave in the middle of her own ball.

So Clary danced with the prince and spoke with him for a long while. After an hour or so went by she was met by another prince and several more. The entire evening seemed so surreal. Clary didn't even see Izzy or Alec for the rest of the night and only occasionally got to interact with her mother. Overall, Clary couldn't wait for it to end; but at the same time, she was dreading for the night to be over because in the morning she knew that she would be asked to choose a prince and so far she had no idea.

 **Dun dun dun. Who's Clary going to choose? What's going to happen to her relationship with Jace? Is this the end for Clace?  
I hope y'all liked this chapter, my little dragons! Please review, let me know what you thought, and I will try to update soon.**


	30. Candles and Roses

"Here's how it's going to work," Isabelle said as she walked back and forth in front of Clary. Behind her was a large screen that had an image of one of the princes projected on it. Clary was sitting on a couch watching as Isabelle informed her about what was going to happen. Her mother was also sitting beside her. "I'm going to go through the list of each prince and we'll dwindle down the options to who you liked best."

"You know I can't help but think of how _Princess Diaries_ this all is," Clary said recalling what seemed like this exact scene from the movie. Isabelle cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"The Princess D- You know what, never mind, continue." Clary sighed and Isabelle turned away from her.

"Okay, let's start then." Isabelle went through the dozens of princes by clicking a button on a remote she was holding.

Clary dismissed people she hadn't been fond of the night before but found that she wasn't really interested in any of them. Many of the names that came on the screen she recognized and many others she didn't. It didn't take very long before they were down to just three. Erik Safar, Louis Youngblood, and Brendon Trueblood. Clary stared at the last name, she felt like she was betraying Jace by leaving it up there.

"Alright," Jocelyn spoke for the first time in a while. As they had been going through the list Isabelle was commenting on the boys but the queen had remained silent. "Do you need time to think or do you know who you'd like to marry, Clarissa?"

"I know who I want to marry," Clary muttered. "But yeah I need some time to think. In fact, do you think I could speak with Isabelle for a bit?"

The queen stood with a nod. "Of course, sweetheart. Take your time." She kissed Clary on the head before leaving the room. Once she was gone Isabelle went to a screen that showed all three men at once. She then sat down beside Clary.

"Well let's see here," She started immediately. "Erik has a great sense of humor, Louis is quite intelligent, and Brendon was hella hot." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Personally I wouldn't go with Louis, he seemed like a bit of a know-it-all. Erik seemed almost the opposite though, not too bright really. Brendon was nice and a good mix of being smart but not overly smart."

"Izzy," Clary said while the girl was paused. She turned to look at her and Clary gave the girl an exasperated glare. "Jace almost punched him out yesterday."

Isabelle's eyes widened. "Who?"

Clary nodded her head towards the screen. "Brendon."

Her mouth dropped. "What?" She exclaimed. "Girl why didn't you tell me?! What happened? Spill."

Clary shrugged. "I was just talking with him and then Jace came over and started insulting the guy. When I questioned him he just said he didn't like him and..." She trailed off running a hand through her hair. "Izzy what am I going to do? I can't marry some prince I don't even know."

"Tell your mom that," Isabelle said taking one of Clary's hands in her own. "I'm sure she'd understand."

Clary shook her head. "I can't. The kingdom is so broken right now that I think the only way to piece it back together is to form another alliance. We need to be stronger and the only way to really do that is if I marry a prince of some other country."

Isabelle sighed and looked down for a moment. "Then you need to forget about Jace," She said softly looking back up. "And choose whoever you want because you're just going to keep torturing yourself thinking about what you can't have."

"I know you're right," said Clary. "I just wish you weren't."

"I'm sorry." Isabelle offered a sympathetic smile to Clary who smiled back weakly. The raven-haired girl stood up releasing Clary's hand and turning to the screen. "So do you know who you're going to pick?"

Clary stood up too. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans as she stood next to Isabelle. "Honestly, I feel like I had the most in common with Brendon," Clary admitted. "But I could never-"

"Clary," Isabelle scolded. "Jace's feelings don't matter here. If you like Brendon then you like him and that's that."

Clary swallowed hard looking back to the screen. With a guilty sigh, she spoke. "Then I guess we have our answer..."

* * *

Later that day Clary was standing outside with Simon. It was night and considering where they now stood Clary could barely see anything. She was holding a candle that flickered from the wind. She set it down upon the stone in front of them before straightening back up. Her hand found Simon's almost unintentionally and he squeezed it comfortingly.

The stone was so new, the carved words still fresh and vivid against the gray. Clary wondered why they would have buried his body so respectfully after everything he did and that brought her to wonder why she was standing at his grave now. They were atop a small hill with a single tombstone sitting in front of them. It was labeled 'Valentine Morgenstern'.

She had decided that she wanted to visit his gravesite but didn't want to go alone, so Simon said he would come with her. And now they stood before it and Clary didn't know why she wanted to be there anymore. Her brain racked her mind to find the reasons she had had before in wanting to come here. She came up with nothing. All it was was the grave of a man she had hardly known before he betrayed her and her mother. But he was her father, the king, the once respected. And no longer mourned.

"Clary," Simon suddenly said and she looked up at him slowly. "You ready to go?"

Clary looked back down at the tombstone. The fire from the candle glowed faintly illuminating the top of the flat stone. She let go of Simon's hand and walked a few paces to pick a flower. Clary walked back over and held the flower over the flame, it's petal caught fire. She dropped it on the ground after most of it was covered in flame and then stomped on it putting out the fire but leaving a crumbled and broken ashy flower over the grave. Clary turned back to Simon.

"Yeah," said she. "I'm ready." Simon only nodded as the two began retreating down the hill. They walked in silence for a couple minutes as the castle was fairly far away from the single grave. Simon spoke after a while though.

"So the prince is arriving tomorrow," He stated seeing as he already knew that. Everybody knew it at this point.

Clary nodded. "Yup."

"Who'd you choose?"

"Prince Brendon Trueblood. Or as Jace calls him 'pretentious, stuck up royal Brandon.'" Clary looked up at Simon pointedly and he grimaced.

"Yikes, I take it Jace doesn't like him then?"

"I think he would've punched the guy had I not been there to stop him." She thought for a moment. "Well, actually he would have never been provoked to punch him if I hadn't been there talking to him in the first place."

Simon laughed. "That's fantastic, I wish I could've been there."

"Trust me," Clary scoffed. "I wish you could've been there too." She shoved her hands in her pockets and shivered slightly as the wind picked up. They were nearing the castle now but it was still a little ways away.

"Does Jace know who you've chosen?" Simon wondered and it was a perfectly valid question. It would've made sense for Clary to have told him right away but she desperately wanted to avoid that question. Instead, she planned to put it off for as long as possible... aka tomorrow when she'd be announcing it to the entire kingdom.

Clary frowned. "No. He told me he doesn't care though, it's my life I can do what I want." She sighed remembering his words.

"Harsh." Simon took in a sharp breath. "You're going to be queen though, don't let one little noble get to you."

Clary rolled her eyes. "I think you're forgetting that _because_ I'm going to be queen I'll have to see him like _all_ the time. Simon what if I just made you a noble and then you could run interference anytime Jace had to be at the castle."

Simon chuckled. "I'm not sure that's how it works, Clare."

"Then you can marry Izzy!" Clary exclaimed hopefully. "Then you'll be of a noble family as long as you keep her name."

Simon raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you really suggesting I marry Izzy just so you don't have to see Jace as much?"

"Of course not! You'll marry Izzy because you love her." Clary paused. "The Jace thing would just be a bonus." Simon shook his head as the two reached the castle. They walked inside to the foyer and almost ran right into Alec as he was exiting the castle. "Alec!" Clary exclaimed giving him a hug.

"Princess," He smiled back returning the hug. "Where were you guys?" He wondered glancing back and forth between Simon and Clary.

"Valentine's grave," Simon answered and Alec nodded understandingly. "The queen knew I was taking Clary."

"Good," He said. "I've got to go though. I promised to meet with..." Alec trailed off his gaze landing on Clary before he cleared his throat. "Uh, Magnus. Yeah, I was just leaving to meet Magnus."

Clary rolled her eyes. "You can say Jace's name in front of me you know."

"But I'm not meeting with Jace." _Jeez, Alec is a bad liar,_ Clary thought. "I'm meeting Magnus."

"Whatever you say," Clary said and began walking away. "You're only lying to yourself, Alec!" She couldn't see it but she imagined that Alec flushed at that before she heard the doors open as he left. Simon caught back up with her.

"Okay so the prince's arrival and the announcement are tomorrow," He started. "When are the wedding and your coronation?"

"The wedding is like three days after Brendon's arrival and my coronation is the day after that." She recited what she had been told many times.

"This is all happening so fast," Simon sighed. "It feels like just yesterday you were only arriving here for the first time."

Clary laughed. "I remember that day. You made a total fool out of yourself by knocking a bunch of stuff over." Simon frowned at the memory. "Isabelle engulfed me in a hug before I even knew who she was, Jace was only a royal pain in the ass, and Alec hardly spoke to me unless he had to. How things have changed." She sounded pensive as she spoke and almost nostalgic.

"Those were also the days that Alec and Jace were part of the Circle," Simon reminded her. "The days where your death was being plotted every single day."

Clary pursed her lips. "Yeah, I thought there was a reason we didn't talk about those days anymore..." Simon laughed. "But who knows, someone could still be plotting my death at this very moment, it's the perks of ruling a kingdom."

"Well, technically you don't rule it _yet_."

Clary waved a dismissive hand. "That's just a formality. I will soon."

Simon opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Isabelle suddenly entered. "Clary!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking for you, we need to choose your outfit for tomorrow."

Clary groaned. "I'll wear a nice dress and I won't argue but we can choose tomorrow."

"Umm," Isabelle stalked up to them. "Have you not met me? We are choosing now."

"Why can't you just choose for me?" Clary whined. "You have such a great fashion sense Iz, I trust you to pick something."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Clarissa it does not work like that. You have to be there for the final decision whether you like it or not."

"Fine," said Clary, "choose three gowns and I'll be up later to decide."

"Fine." Isabelle crossed her arms.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine." Clary stuck her tongue out and Izzy and the girl started laughing before she could retaliate with another 'fine'.

Isabelle split off from them and it was just Simon and Clary again. They wandered aimlessly through the castle for a little while talking about whatever came up, mostly Clary's upcoming royal duties. Nothing and yet everything seemed like the most important thing ever right now, Clary could hardly comprehend how insane her life had become over the years. Because really and truly, nothing had ever been the same after that first day when Jace had spoken to her about coffee.

 **Yo, my dragons! I hope y'all liked this chapter. Jace wasn't even actually in this one and it's a Clace fic but eh... Shit's going down and up and left and right and we'll just have to see what happens with all that shit. Please review and as always I'll update soon!**


	31. Tears and Fiances

Clary stood with her hands behind her back. She was with her mother, Luke, and a few knights who were there as guards. The castle doors were wide open as King Leroy, Queen Ellison, and Prince Brendon Trueblood walked up the palace steps with their own royal party.

Her thoughts drifted off to Jace as she watched her fiance approach. Clary inwardly groaned at that word. _Fiance._ It somehow seemed like the worst word in existence right now and Clary willed herself to push it out her head. She tried focusing on the boy that was in front of her but she could only think of Jace.

She shut her eyes hard for several moments forcing all thoughts of Jace from her mind. She did not need to be thinking about him. Especially not now. Not when the man she was meant to marry was literally walking up to her. And... crap, he's here. Clary had to bite her cheek to keep her freak out from reaching the surface. On the inside, though, it was like she was a normal teenager again because the one and only word going through her head was crap. Not very princessly.

"Queen Jocelyn," Greeted Leroy. "How nice to see you." He took her hand and kissed it before linking arms with his wife once more.

"Likewise," Said Jocelyn before turning to the queen. "Queen Ellison, you look as lovely as ever."

"As do you Jocy," She said smiling. Clary actually thought she might die right now. Here she was, speaking with the family of her betrothed and her mother was making small talk. Yup, she would die right here and now-

"Clary," Brendon tore her from her thoughts. He took her arm and they stepped away from their parents (and Luke) who were still talking. "I don't know how I could express my joy right now, I've been utterly speechless."

"I'm glad," Clary said with as large of a smile as she could muster without it looking too fake because indeed it was fake. "I mean honestly almost every one of those princes I met was completely dreadful. So, if I have to marry someone now then I'm glad I found you."

He chuckled. "That was meant to be a compliment, right?"

Clary laughed and nodded. "Yes."

"Then I greatly thank you."

Clary was about to speak again when her mother called out to her from across the room. "Clary darling, why don't you show Brendon to his room for the night."

Clary just held a thumbs up back to her mom and turned to Brendon. "Follow me I guess." She led the prince up the stairs and to his room. They made small talk along the way and about halfway there Clary heard someone call her name from behind. She turned around to find Isabelle running after her.

"Clare you will never guess what just happened," She said completely ignoring Brendon's presence. "It was hilarious."

"Well, Izzy I-" Clary tried to say but Isabelle cut her off.

"So I was with Magnus and Simon, right, and we were just hanging out at the bakery."

"Iz-"

"But then this customer came in that Magnus recognized because she was a regular."

"Isabelle-"

"And so she went to sit in the seat she usually sat at but it had just been painted over because it was looking really dull and chipped."

"IZZY!" Clary exclaimed and Isabelle finally stopped talking. She motioned with one hand to the man standing beside her. "This is Prince Brendon, my _fiance._ "

Isabelle turned her gaze to him and Clary was shocked by the clear disdain in her expression. "Oh." She turned back to Clary without another word. "Anyway, so _then_ Mags tries to tell this girl that the seat is still wet from the paint, there's even a sign on it but she ignores them both."

"Izzy," Clary said again and Isabelle stopped her story once again. "I'm sort of in the middle of doing something... with Brendon..."

"That's ok," Isabelle waved a dismissive hand. "I'm sure he doesn't mind." She pushed herself between the two and linked her arm with Clary's. "So this lady goes to sit right-"

"Isabelle," Clary pulled her arm from her. "What is with you today?"

Izzy eyed Brendon for a moment, there was no longer disdain in her gaze but rather a sort of sadness. "Nothing, sorry. You know I just remembered that I have to go and meet Jace. It was really nice to meet you, Brendon. Bye, Clare." With that, she turned and left and Clary felt almost bad. Isabelle had looked really upset and she didn't know what about.

"If you want to go after her," Brendon said clearly reading Clary's expression and possibly her mind. "You can, I don't mind." Clary looked up at him worriedly. "Really, I understand she's your friend."

Clary smiled gratefully. "You're room is just down the hall, second door on the left. Thank you, Brendon." She ran down the hall after Isabelle, the raven-haired girl was surprisingly fast for someone who is always wearing six-inch heels.

When she finally found Izzy the girl was talking with Jace. Had she actually been telling the truth? Nevertheless, she looked upset and Clary needed to talk to her.

"Izzy," Clary said and both Jace and Isabelle looked up. "Izzy, what's wrong?" When Isabelle didn't answer Clary took a step forward and took her hand in her own. "Please tell me, Iz. I know that something's up."

Isabelle shrugged pulling her hand from Clary's. "It's just..." She shook her head for a moment. "You don't belong with him."

"What?" Clary was taken aback. "But you were all for me choosing Brendon. You even seemed happy."

"I was never happy about it!" She exclaimed. "I just acted like I was but it's different now that he's actually here. Clare, you deserve to be with someone you actually love, not have to settle for _him._ " She jerked her head in the direction of the stairs.

Clary glanced back at Jace but he was standing several feet away with his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry Izzy, I had no idea. But you know that there's nothing I can do about it. I have to marry him."

"You had a choice. The Queen would have let you marry anyone you chose but you decided to go with someone that would be good for the kingdom, not yourself. Now that he's here it's too late, but you did have a choice." Clary looked back at Jace again and Isabelle followed her gaze. "Yeah." Izzy shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Izzy!" Clary called out but Isabelle just kept on walking. Jace finally looked up and watched Isabelle leave for a moment before he locked eyes with Clary.

"So you went with Royal Bradly after all." He said though the mocking tone in his voice seemed almost lost.

"I'm really not in the mood, Jace." Clary half snapped.

"Oh come on Clary-" He started.

"Come on? Come on!?" She yelled back. "No! I will not 'come on'! I am fed up with all these expectations. From my mom, from you, from Isabelle, from this entire kingdom!"

"From me?" He questioned. "What exactly are the expectations you have from me?"

"That-" She started but she wasn't exactly sure of what she was going to say. "You know what!"

"No, I really don't," Jace stated. "Because the only thing that I've ever expected from you was that you were going to be you, no matter what. But you know I guess you're right," He shrugged. "You did let me down there."

Clary's mouth gaped slightly. "When we first met there was a lot that I expected from you: arrogance, heartbreaking, narcissism. But I didn't expect you to be such an ass." She turned on her heel and headed up to her room.

"Clary wait!" Jace called after her. He grabbed her wrist just as she reached the top of the stairs. She yanked her hand from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did," Clary replied blinking tears from her eyes as she continued on to her room. Jace still followed her though. "But you're right." She stated as she reached her open doorway. She turned around to look at Jace who appeared utterly surprised. "I'm not myself anymore, but I have to be someone else for the sake of the entire country. I don't _want_ to marry him. I don't _want_ to be queen. I don't _want_ to be hurting all my friends. I have no choice."

Clary turned away from Jace as a tear slipped through and rolled down her cheek. He must have seen it though because he took Clary's arm, turned her back around, and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face into his shirt and let herself cry. She could feel Jace press a kiss to the top of her head and his arms tighten around her body. He was so warm and it felt so right that Clary never wanted to let go.

But then he did. Jace released Clary slightly so they weren't as close but he pressed his forehead to hers. She could see the golden flecks in his eyes and the shape of his lips. And then she couldn't take her eyes off his lips. And then they were kissing.

It was soft at first, almost unintentional. Until Clary wrapped her arms around Jace's neck and pulled him towards her. It became hungrier as they stumbled into Clary's room and she heard Jace kick the door closed behind them. Any coherent thought left Clary's mind as she sank into the boy before her. She clung to him like he was the last thing keeping her there and he very well may have been.

Clary ran her hands through his hair as he balled up the fabric of her dress in his hands. She could suddenly feel Jace's hands undoing the ribbon in the back of her dress and she wondered how he was doing it so expertly. Clary smiled again his mouth though when she realized it was probably because Isabelle forced him to help her with clothing all the time.

She became lost in the kiss. So lost she practically forgot her own name because the only one that mattered was Jace's. This was what was right, nothing else in the world could be equal to right there and then as they collapsed on Clary's bed tangled in one another.

 **Yes, I know cheating's bad and trust me that Clary's going to be feeling the guilt in the morning. But I just... I mean... It's like... Hehehe. What's going to happen next? What is Brendon going to do if he finds out? What will Clary do now and how exactly is Jace going to undoubtedly break up the engagement? Please review your thoughts and I hope y'all liked this chapter.**


	32. Affairs and Confessions

The next morning Clary woke oddly happy... and warm. She blinked her eyes open and realized that there was an arm wrapped around her waist. Clary tumbled out of Jace's grasp and onto the floor dragging one of the blankets with her as she realized she wasn't dressed. Oddly enough the sleeping boy in her bed seemed unfazed by all of the noise and movement as he turned over still sound asleep.

Clary couldn't believe what she had done as memories from the night before came flooding back to her. She groaned as she stood up and ran over to her closet for some clothes. When Clary had found a t-shirt and pants she exited to see that Jace was still asleep. She grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and whipped it at him. He moaned and pulled the covers over his head.

"Alec five more minutes." He mumbled and Clary cocked her head. Alec? Really?

"Jace get up." She demanded throwing another pillow.

"Why do you sound so feminine this morning?" He wondered, his voice gruff with sleep.

"Because I'm not Alec, dimwit," Clary said standing at the edge of the bed. Slowly Jace raised his head though he was still lying on his stomach. He looked around curiously before seeming to realize where exactly he was.

"Clary?!" He exclaimed turning around and sitting up. "Wait did we-" He trailed off as he began to smile and laugh a little. "Nevermind I remember now." Clary whipped another pillow at him angrily and he raised his arms to cover his head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Get up, get dressed, and get _out_!" Clary yelled pointing at the door. "Do you realize what I've done? Do you, Jace? I have committed adultery. I _cheated_ on my fiance. I always promised myself I would never become one of _those_ girls and yet here I am." She began pacing at the edge of the bed so Jace leaned forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll figure it out." He said but Clary didn't return the hug.

"Jace." She said looking at the ceiling.

"Yes?"

"Pants."

"Right." Jace detached himself and Clary turned away as he got up and got dressed in what he had been wearing yesterday. That wouldn't be inconspicuous at all...

Clary was chewing on her nail and pacing back and forth. She hadn't been thinking before but now that she was all she wanted was to take it back. Did she really though? Clary through her arms up in exasperation as she continued to pace.

"Clary," Jace said and she stopped and looked at him.

"I told you to get dressed." She stated staring at his bare chest.

He grinned. "No, you told me to put on pants."

"Well, now I'm telling you to put on a shirt too." She crossed her arms over her chest as he laughed and pulled on his shirt too. "Could you maybe not look so happy right now? This is a serious problem."

"I'm sorry." Jace shrugged and walked over to her. He put his hands on her arms and rubbed them. "I can't help it." The lilted smile on his face caused Clary to relax just a tad. Jace put one of his hands under her chin and lifted her face to his as he leaned down to kiss her. Clary kissed back for a moment before she realized what she was doing... again.

"Stop!" Clary jumped back from Jace who put his hands up instantly. "No more of that. None whatsoever _._ This whatever this is, can _never_ happen again. Never. It's bad enough that it happened once. This is bad, very very very bad. Everything about this is just bad."

"Maybe not everything about it," Jace smirked and Clary glared at him. His smirk only grew. "You have to admit I'm right though."

"Shut up," Clary grumbled shoving past him. "You need to get out of here without anyone noticing." She checked the clock to find that it was still fairly early. "Okay, I think that if we're just calm and natural about this it'll work." Clary worried her lip and Jace stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You are really anxious right now."

"Oh? I didn't notice, thanks, Jace." Clary glared at him and he backed away a step. She shook her head and went over to the door. She opened it slowly and peeked her head out to check if anyone was around. When she found it completely empty Clary beckoned for Jace to come over. "You tell nobody about this. And when I say nobody I mean, nobody."

He nodded. "Got it, so Alec."

"Nobody."

"So, Alec?"

"No. Body."

"So... Alec?"

Clary put her head in her hands. "Just leave." She pushed him out the door but the moment she did both of them froze with wide eyes. After a moment Jace pursed his lips and spoke.

"So, I guess I do get to tell Alec after all." He said as the raven-haired boy stared at them both with raised eyebrows.

* * *

"We have some explaining to do," Clary said as she sat beside Jace on her couch while Alec stood before them.

"You think?" He replied.

"It's just," Clary sighed running a hand through her hair. "I don't even know where to start."

"Why don't you start with what the hell Jace was doing in your room so early in the morning!" Alec yelled gesturing to the golden boy but looking at Clary. "I think that would be a fantastic spot."

"Okay, fine." Clary put up her hands defensively. "Well, it just sort of happened. We were arguing last night and I got kind of upset so Jace was comforting me and-"

"And then you fucked," Alec stated and Clary cringed.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds bad." She said.

"No matter how you say it I'm pretty sure it's going to sound bad," Alec said and Clary knew he was right. "Jace, do you have anything to say about this?"

Both Clary and Alec turned to Jace who just sat there silent. He looked at them both in turn with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. "No, not really."

"Are you kidding-" Alec ran both his hands through his hair. "You're you, what was I expecting?" He opened his mouth to say more but someone knocked on the door and it slowly opened.

"Hey, Clary I..." Brendon trailed off as he saw Alec and Jace. "Didn't know you had company."

"Don't worry," Said Alec grabbing Jace by the arm and pulling him up. "We were just leaving." But before he could take another step Isabelle entered.

"Clary, listen I think we really need to talk about-" She too trailed off upon seeing everyone. "Well, actually it looks like we have multiple things to talk about. What is everyone doing in here?"

"That's what I would like to know." Brendon crossed his arms and scanned over Alec and Jace before looking at Clary who was now standing.

"As would I," Alec mumbled glaring at Jace and Clary shot him a look telling him to be quiet. Thankfully, it didn't look like anyone else heard him.

Everyone began talking at once and Clary just stood at the edge of it all quietly. Alec yelling at Jace, Brendon yelling at both, and Isabelle yelling at everyone. She fiddled with her own fingers unsure if she should say something when she saw the figures of Simon and Magnus appear suddenly at the door. They both paused upon seeing everybody else and when Simon spotted Clary he raised his hands in a 'what's going on?' motion.

Clary looked around at the group for just a moment before quickly slipping away and out of her own room. She stood in the hall with Magnus and Simon as the sounds of the others bickering within went on. She grimaced and walked down the hall a little further with the two.

"What was that all about?" Simon asked concerned.

"Trust me," Clary said. "You don't want to know."

"Oh I'm sure I do want to know and I'm sure at some point I will know," Magnus said.

"Yeah I'm sure you will too," Clary muttered. She sighed and blew out air before clapping her hands together. "I slept with Jace."

"You-" Simon stumbled over his words and his mouth gaped.

"What!?" Magnus exclaimed with the exact same look as Simon.

"I slept with Jace," Clary clarified. "Last night. And he was still there this morning... where Alec caught us."

Magnus slapped himself in the face and Clary jumped back startled. She looked over at Simon who seemed to have recovered from the shock and was staring at Magnus in the same way. The downworlder shook his head and gaped at Clary a moment longer.

"You slept," He started and was already half yelling. "With that golden narcissistic ass hat?!" He exclaimed and Clary motioned for him to quiet down. "I'm sorry, biscuit, that's just a little hard for me to believe. Especially considering you're, oh I don't know, _engaged!"_

"I know, I know," Clary started but before she could get out another word they all heard Isabelle yell loudly as the group that had been in Clary's room exited.

"SHE WHAT!?" The girl screamed. The moment her eyes landed on Clary she gave her the most disapproving glare she had ever gotten.

"I still feel like I'm missing something here," Brendon stated as the four walked down the hall to where Clary, Simon, and Magnus were.

"Yeah," Jace patted him on the back with a hatred smile. "Get used to that."

Isabelle approached Clary with her arms over her chest. "Alec just told me something very interesting, Clarissa."

Clary grimaced and glanced over her friend's shoulder to Alec and Jace. Jace was grinning like a maniac and Alec still looked disappointed in her. Brendon was behind all of them and by the look on his face, nobody had told him anything... yet.

"It was something very interesting indeed," Jace stated clearly happy with himself. Clary shot him a look.

"You are not helping yourself right now," She growled and turned back to Isabelle. "Izzy, I know I have some explaining to do so please can we just go somewhere and talk about this. I messed up, I know and I'm sorry, just let me explain."

"You know I was actually coming to your room to apologize for being so bipolar lately and what I said yesterday, funny how you end up being the one that has to apologize." She huffed. "Fine, let's talk." She looked around at the group that surrounded them. "Jace come, everyone else stays or I'll punch you in the balls." The girl spun on her heel and started walking away. Clary shrugged back to Simon and Magnus before following after her with Jace. She gave Brendon an apologetic smile and thought of how hard it would be to explain all of this. Boy was she screwed.

They all ended up in the throne room. The place had been being set up for the upcoming ceremony that was to take place immediately after the wedding. It was strange not to see the room so full of dust but rather of life and light for once.

Isabelle turned to face them once she was in the middle of the room. Jace and Clary stood side by side and though Clary didn't look up at the boy she could sense that he was tense.

"So who wants to start?" She asked with an almost mom or teacher like tone. "You know what I actually think I will. Okay so you," She gestured to Clary. "I thought you were better than this, I mean cheating, really? And right before your wedding, you're going to be queen for christ's sake." She shook her head and turned to Jace. "And you, I don't know what you did to get Clary to sleep with you but shame on you! You're better than that too. This past week has been stressful enough without now having to deal with this! I am so angry at the both of you right now."

"I'm really sorry, Izzy," Clary said. "But you said it yourself, I deserve to be with someone I actually love and not have to settle. Well, I was with someone that I actually love."

Jace seemed taken aback by that statement but before he could get in a word Isabelle spoke. "That was not me giving you permission to cheat!" She exclaimed.

"Hold on can we back up a moment," Jace tried to say but both girls ignored him.

"I know, Iz, and I wasn't saying that it was," Clary said. "I merely meant that it's more complicated than what it seems. Honest to god I didn't mean to do it."

"I know you didn't, Clare." Isabelle sighed. "Of course I know that you didn't but you still need to tell Brendon."

"Guys can we seriously pause for a moment," Jace said. "I really want to get back to that 'L' word that was used."

Without looking away from Isabelle Clary put her hand on the side of Jace's face and pushed him away. He threw up his hands exasperated. "What do you mean I have to tell Brendon. I can't tell him, he hates Jace enough as it is, he would call off the marriage."

"Clary you cannot keep this a secret or guilt will just boil up in you until you explode and _then_ it'll be a big issue." Isabelle shrugged. "I know it's difficult, darling, but the sooner you tell him the more understanding he'll be and the less damaging the explosion will be."

"You're right," Clary sighed. "You're always right, I don't know what I'd do without you." Clary pulled Isabelle into a hug and once they released Jace spoke again.

"So happy that's all taken care of," He said and the girls turned to him for the first time in the whole conversation. "But can we please talk about th-"

"Your Majesty," The door to the throne room was thrown open and a servant Clary only sort of recognized was at the door.

"Seriously," Jace said after being cut off again.

"Your Majesty there's someone here for you," The man said. "A woman and two young boys, your family, Princess."

"By the Angel," Clary whispered. "Oh, I totally forgot that Camille and the boys were coming in today!" She smiled giddily before taking off into the foyer to find her foster family waiting there for her along with her biological mother.

"Clary!" Camille exclaimed as Clary jumped into her arms.

"Camille, it's so good to see you!" She said and then she looked down on Jonathon and Sebastian. "Jon! Seb!" She crouched down and pulled them both into a bear hug despite the groans of protest. "How are my two favorite little guys?" She wondered rubbing their heads.

Sebastian smoothed down his hair and glared at her. "A lot better before you noogied us." Jon nodded in solemn agreement and Clary laughed.

"I missed you too, bub." Camille put her arm around Clary and the two walked off a little ways as the boys began messing around with each other.

"So," She started. "You're getting married, huh?" Clary nodded her head. "And right out of high school too... I always thought you'd be the girl to grow old with twenty-seven cats."

"Twenty-seven?" Clary furrowed her eyebrows at her. "That's a very specific number."

Camille shrugged. "I'm a very specific person. But come on, I wanna meet this prince you're marrying. I need to make sure he's good enough for my Clary."

"I can just answer that for you now," Jace said as he and Isabelle came up behind them and Clary had to fight the urge to punch him. "He's not."

"Oh?" Camille's eyebrows shot up. "Well if Jace says that he's not then obviously he's not." Jace smiled standing at Camille's side.

"Izzy hold me back," Clary said shutting her eyes and Isabelle immediately grabbed her arm. "I swear I'm going to explode."

"I know," She used her free hand to rub Clary's arm. "I know."

"Anyway," Camille said. "I think that the boys and I are going to get settled in and we'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," Clary nodded. "That sounds great. You must have had a long flight, go relax for a bit and I'll see you for lunch."

Camille, Jonathon, and Sebastian started off towards the rooms they stayed in the last time they were in Idris. Once they rounded the corner Isabelle let go of Clary which resulted in the redhead slapping Jace on the arm multiple times. He scowled and rubbed his now red arm.

"That was uncalled for," He stated and Clary glared him.

"Oh, I think it was more than called for." Clary huffed and crossed her arms. "Now if you two don't mind I sort of have something to do." She turned and started off in the direction of Brendon's room. Hopefully, this wouldn't end too badly.

* * *

"Listen," Clary started to say. She was standing across from the couch that Brendon was sitting down on. When she had found him she had told him that he might want to sit before they talked. "The reason that Jace and Alec were in my room earlier is because-" She gulped. "Last night, Jace and I... we slept together and then Alec walked in on us this morning."

The reaction Clary was given was about ten times less than the reaction she had been expecting. Meaning that there was basically no reaction whatsoever.

Brendon just sat on the couch. His eyebrows shot up a tad bit but he didn't seem too surprised or hurt for that matter. He didn't say anything either. And it was the silence that worried Clary. Any rational person would have blown up and freaked out like Isabelle did. So if he wasn't rational then what was he going to do? Kill Jace? No, he wouldn't... would he? Clary didn't know him well enough to know.

"Brendon," She walked over and sat beside him. "I am so so sorry and I want you to know that that will never happen again. I promise. I'll even stop seeing Jace if you really want me to. Anything, just... I'm so sorry."

The prince looked sideways at her. "I forgive you," He said to Clary's surprise. Her eyebrows shot up and he shrugged. "I mean, yeah, I'm a little hurt by it but I know you regret what you did and I completely forgive you. And I'm not going to stop you from seeing Jace, he's your friend. Even if I really don't like him, I won't stop you from seeing him."

"You are the most amazing guy ever," Clary almost laughed. She hugged him so thankful that he forgave her. "I'm lucky to have you, honestly."

He smiled bashfully. "It's nothing, really, I understand. Just as long as you don't cheat again."

"Of course," Clary said. "Never, I will never ever again."

"Good," Brendon kissed her forehead before standing up. "I do have some things that I need to attend to though. So I'll see you later?"

Clary nodded also standing. "Yeah, although I'll probably be busy with my foster family for most of the day. You'll love Camille, my foster mom, she's great. And Jon and Seb I'm sure will be ecstatic to meet real royalty that isn't me."

Brendon laughed. "Can't wait," The two walked out the door. "I'll see you in a bit, Clare. Bye."

"Bye," Clary said and they went off in opposite directions. She couldn't help it though, halfway down the hall she paused and looked back at his retreating figure. How could he have been so calm?

 **I. Am. Excited. For the next chapter I mean, it's gonna be great. Now it's up to you guys to figure out if I mean great as in 'wow that was amazing, I loved it' or great as in 'WHAT JUST HAPPENED IM GOING TO THROW MY PHONE OUT THE WINDOW'. Good luck.  
But I hope y'all liked this chapter. Please review and tell me about your Thanksgiving, what you're thankful for and all that. Love you fledglings.**


	33. Part 1 and Weddings

**Part one of two**

Today was the day. The day that Clary had been dreading for a week. The day that she would be presented to the entire kingdom as a new woman. The day she would lose her complete and total independence.

The day she was getting married.

She was currently being helped into her wedding gown. It likely weighed a hundred pounds with over a million individuals sparkles and beads sewed on. At least that's what Clary thought.

After the seamstresses were done doing a last once over on the dress Clary was left alone. Her hair had been done up with a thousand bobby pins and her make up was professionally done. She wore heels that were three inches high but three inches too high for Clary's liking. She studied the dress she had on. It poofed out at her waist but was excruciatingly tight around her chest. They weren't lying when they said beauty is pain. She was still studying the dress when the door slowly opened and then closed. Clary looked up to see Alec.

The boy's eyebrows shot up and he whistled appreciatively. "You look incredible." He said and Clary couldn't help but blush. He, himself, was wearing a nice suit with the flag of Idris pinned on it. "And that means extra coming from a gay man," He added pointedly. "Seriously."

Clary laughed. "Well thank you, Alec. I don't particularly feel incredible though."

"Cold feet?" He wondered walking over to one of the couches in the room and sitting. Clary would've joined him but the dress made it hard to sit.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just think I'm still not used to being a princess."

"Ah yes," Alec said. "But by this time tomorrow, you won't be a princess."

Clary glared at him. "You're right, it'll be worse, I'll be queen!"

He chuckled with a shrug. "What have I told you in the past? You'll do great, I believe in you Clare."

"I know, Alec, and it means a lot to me." She sighed. "You know if I could've made you a bridesmaid I totally would've."

He cringed. "Oh no, don't say that."

"But you would've looked so pretty in my bridesmaid dresses." Clary teased and Alec shook his head with his eyes closed.

"Please no, stop, just stop."

"I can just picture it now," Clary said thoughtfully. "You would look fantastic."

"I hate you so much," Alec sighed. He stood up just as the door was flung open and the boy's sister came tumbling in with enthusiasm. "That looks like my cue to leave," He said pointing to his sister. He put his hand on Clary's shoulder and paused before leaving. "Just trust me, Clary, this will be the best day of your life." He smiled confidently at her which was cause for Clary to hesitate. He left before she could ask what he meant by that.

Izzy walked over to Clary and took one of her hands. She spun the girl around as though to examine the dress in whole. "You look so beautiful I might cry." She said dramatically wiping under one of her eyes.

"Oh please," Clary rolled her eyes looking at her friend. Isabelle was wearing the bridesmaid dress Clary (with a _lot_ of input from Isabelle) chose. It hugged her body in all the right places and the colors brought out her dark, sharp features nicely. She looked way better than Clary did. " _You_ look beautiful."

Isabelle just shrugged. "No more than usual."

Clary scoffed. "Way to be modest, Iz."

She laughed. "Okay, enough of me, are you excited? You're getting married in less than an hour Clare!"

"I know!" Clary yelled back mimicking her enthusiasm. "Calm down, Izzy!"

She put her hands on her hips and huffed. "You're a party pooper. Come on, it's your wedding day you're supposed to be hyped."

"I am hyped," Clary said clearly not convincing her friend. "Just on the inside."

"Lame," Izzy said plopping down on the couch. She opened her mouth to say something else but before she could the door opened again and so entered Luke.

"Princess," He said as he walked over. "You look amazing." He bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Luke," She smiled happily. "Is there something you needed or a reason you came in?"

"Your mother simply wanted me to make sure you were completely ready," He said looking over the dress.

Clary laughed. "Sending you to do her dirty work, I see. Well, you can go ahead and report back to her that I am ready to get married. I am dressed, my hair is done up, and my face is made up." She gave him two thumbs up. "All good."

He chuckled. "Alright, I'll go ahead and tell her that. And Clare, today'll be great, don't worry." As he turned to open the door it was opened by someone on the other side. Simon peaked his head through though his hand was covering his eyes.

"Is everyone decent in here?" He asked feeling forward so he wouldn't trip as he entered the room. Luke caught him before he tumbled into a side table with a vase on it.

"No," Isabelle answered. "We're all naked which is why the door was unlocked."

Simon turned to the sound of her voice but kept his hand over his eyes. "Really?"

"No, you idiot!" She threw a pillow at him and Clary laughed. "Yes, everybody is decent."

Simon removed his hand from his face and chuckled awkwardly. "Heh, hey Luke, Izzy, Clary."

Luke patted Simon on the back. "Good luck kid," He said as he went out the door. "You're going to need it."

After Luke left Simon joined Isabelle on the couch. He studied Clary's dress for a moment. "You know I have to be honest with you," He started. "It's a really nice dress and all but it's just not... you."

Clary smiled appreciating the honesty and thankful that someone else agreed with her. Isabelle, on the other hand, took another pillow and started waking him with it. He held up his arms to protect himself until she finally stopped.

"Thanks, Si," Clary said. "I feel the same."

"Clary you look great," Isabelle managed. "You look like you just sparklier."

"Now you sound like Magnus," Simon said from beside her resulting in another wack from the pillow. "You're acting more like Jace though." He muttered and when Isabelle threatened the pillow again he winced back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I love you, I didn't mean it."

"Good," She crossed her arms over her chest satisfied and Simon wiped his hand across his forehead.

"Actually," Clary said. "I think that you two should just take my place today. You're clearly far more ready to be married than Brendon and I." Isabelle and Simon both looked over at each other and then burst out laughing at the exact same time.

"Ready?" Isabelle got out in between laughs. "We only just started going out, I still want to murder him half the time. We are nowhere near ready."

"Agreed," Simon said shaking his head as if just the thought of it was insane. Clary supposed it was insane though, just like getting married to someone you only meet a week before was insane.

"Yeah, you're right," Clary sighed wishing she could sit in the huge gown. "I'm just a little nervous is all."

"Don't be," Simon said standing. He put his hands on Clary's shoulders and smiled reassuringly. Was it just her or was Simon giving her the same smile that Alec had? "Everything will be perfect today, I promise." He removed his hands when his phone went off. Simon looked down at the message and then immediately headed towards the door. "I've got to go now but I'll see you guys later."

"Is it just me," Clary said after he closed the door. "Or are all the guys acting really weird?"

"What do you mean?" Isabelle wondered.

"Well Alec was in here first and he kept on saying how today would be the best day of my life, then Luke saying how today'll be great, and now Simon saying that today will be perfect."

"Well, I think that's just what people say to the bride on her wedding day," Isabelle said.

"I suppose," Clary sighed feeling confused. "I just honestly can't wait for this day to be over."

"Cause that's when the honeymoon begins," Isabelle said grinning and Clary turned on her with wide eyes.

"You be quiet!"

"Now how many kids do you think you guys are going to have?" She added thoughtfully ignoring Clary. "One? Two? Twenty?"

"How do you get from two to twenty?"

"A lot of twins."

Clary shook her head with a sigh. "I am going to die."

"Of excitement?" Isabelle asked hopefully and Clary shot her a glare.

"Of _your_ excitement, yes." Isabelle stuck her tongue out at Clary. "Oh, how mature."

Izzy looked down at her phone checking the time. She stood up and started towards the door. "More mature than you, but I have to go now, you are officially getting married in t minus twenty minutes."

"Yay," Clary mocked. Isabelle shrugged before pulling the door closed behind her leaving Clary alone with her thoughts.

* * *

The ballroom looked incredible. It was most definitely fit to hold the wedding of a queen. Clary had kept on managing to sneak peaks of the room through the double doors that she was meant to walk through before being slapped on the hand by Isabelle.

It wasn't long before Clary was left out in the hall by herself waiting for the music to play that would cue her to walk in. Needless to say, her heart was beating out of her chest. She was dreading having everyone's eyes fixated on her. She hated being the center of attention and there was nothing so centered as the bride on her wedding day.

When the music started Clary took a deep breath and stepped through the doors that were opened for her by guards. Clary focused her eyes on her mom as she walked and tried her best to ignore everyone else. It didn't work, though, and her gaze ended up shifting from her mom to Camille to Jonathon and Sebastian to Magnus to Alec to Simon to Isabelle to... Where was Jace?

Her anxiety was suddenly multiplied by ten when Clary realized that Jace was nowhere amongst the crowd. It made her sad that he wouldn't be there to witness such a momentous occasion in her life but then again she didn't know how she would feel if he actually were here. Or how hard it would be for him to watch her get married to someone else.

Clary pushed her thoughts of Jace aside as she reached the prince and the priest. _Ha,_ Clary thought distracted once again, _that sounds like a comedy duo_. She mentally slapped herself again and willed herself to focus. Brendon smiled at her reassuringly but it didn't help the feeling in her stomach.

Was she really going to go through with this? Clary knew that at the beginning of the summer if she had been told she would end up marrying a prince she had just met two weeks before she would have laughed in their face. Yet here she stood now. It all seemed so surreal. And then the priest began to speak.

 _Dearly beloved, yadda yadda yadda, joyous union, yadda yadda yadda, good and balanced relationship, yadda yadda yadda._ Clary could barely hear the priest over the sound of her own heart pounding in her ears. And then that one phrase was spoken that brought Clary back to the present. "If there is anyone who objects to this union let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

And as if on cue Brendon took a step back. Clary cocked her head at him curiously just as the double doors both swung open. She turned to see Jace standing there in a suit and tie. Never had she seen someone breaking in on a wedding look so calm.

"I object."


	34. Part 2 and Endings

**Part two of two**

 _"If there is anyone who objects to this union let them speak now or forever hold their peace."_

 _And as if on cue Brendon took a step back. Clary cocked her head at him curiously just as the double doors both swung open. She turned to see Jace standing there in a suit and tie. Never had she seen someone breaking in on a wedding look so calm._

 _"I object."_ He said with a smile. To Clary's surprise, none of her friends looked surprised, only Isabelle and her foster family seemed taken aback by his entrance.

Brendon shrugged as Jace reached them. "I accept your objection," He stated. Clary raised her eyebrows at him confused by what was happening.

Jace held out his hand and they shook hands. "Thanks, man, means a lot to me."

"No problem," Brendon smiled and patted him on the back as he stepped off the platform.

"What is going on?" Clary asked as Jace stood where Brendon had been. Her eyes followed Brendon until she felt Jace take her hands in his. Her head snapped to him and as happy as she was to see him she was also freaking out. "Jace?"

"This was sort of Brendon's idea," He said. Clary was only more confused now. "I don't want you dating or marrying anyone," He whispered to her. "Anyone that's not me that is."

"Jace..." Clary started again but he put a finger on her lips. She raised her eyebrows up at him and he removed his finger immediately.

"Clary, just listen, you're like my other half. Before I met you my world was constantly being rampaged by a war that I had no say in. And after you came here I found that the evil I was forced to be a part of I began to hate more and more. I would do anything to keep you safe. _Anything_. It's why I pushed you away for so long but I can't push you away any longer. Clary, I love you."

"So what," Clary started but she was smiling now. She looked up into Jace's eyes suddenly happy for the future. "You just decided that you were going ruin my wedding and then what? Ask me to marry _you_?"

Jace's eyes widened and he looked up at Alec. "Umm, that wasn't actually part of the plan," He sounded nervous now and it took everything in Clary to keep from laughing. "I was just supposed to stop this but I mean- Like I- Umm-"

"Just do it you idiot," Isabelle yelled at him. Clary looked back over her shoulder at her friend and laughed.

"Well, then I guess," Jace started again but he was stuttering. Before he could continue, though, Brendon ran back up to them and pressed a little box into Jace's hand.

"Here you go," He said. "That may help."

Jace looked down at it and it was clear to Clary that it didn't help. He looked back up at her and gulped hard. "Clarissa Adelle Fairchild," He said and Clary's heart started pounding again but this time in a good way. "Will you marry me?" As he said it he bent down on one knee and opened the box.

Clary faked thinking for a minute. "Actually..." He raised his eyebrows at her and she laughed. "I'm kidding," He stood up. "Yes, of course, I'll marry you." Jace wrapped his arms around Clary and kissed her hard. The crowd clapped- if not confused clapping- for them.

"Thank the Angel," Jace said when they parted. "You actually had me scared for a moment there."

"Everyone knows that in every drama ever the girl fakes thinking about her answer when being proposed to," Clary said. "I couldn't just give you a straight answer, that's not how the world works, Goldilocks."

He shook his head. "Shut up, princess." He closed the gap between them again.

* * *

Later that night Clary stood with her mother and the Trueblood's. Jocelyn was speaking with the King and Queen while she talked to Brendon.

"I'm really sorry," she said. It was warm outside for being so late. But then again it was still summer. Clary still couldn't get over how much had happened in her life in such a short period of time.

Brendon just shrugged. "Don't be, I was the one that told Jace to do all that. I'm not such a stuck-up asshole that I'm going to keep two people from each other when they're clearly in love."

Clary smiled down at her feet. "That was really sweet of you, and trust me, Brendon, if it wasn't for Jace I would have been more than happy to marry you. You're a catch."

He laughed. "'A catch.' That's how American's say that someone's worthy of dating, right?"

Clary laughed too. "Close enough, yeah."

"Then thank you," He said. "And don't worry about the treaty that would have been settled in our marriage. I took care of all that too. Our nation is bound to help Idris in its time of need."

"You have no idea how much that means to me after this whole civil war. You are truly a saint."

"Not to my parents," Brendon sighed. "They're furious that I planned this whole thing which is why we're going home tonight. I would have loved to stay for your coronation, princess, but I have a feeling I'm about to be grounded for life."

"Sorry about that," Clary sympathized.

"When are you and Jace getting married though?" He wondered.

"Two weeks from tomorrow," Clary replied and could feel her ears getting hot. "It's not going to be nearly as extravagant as ours was but considering that it was because of you we're even together right now you are definitely invited."

He laughed. "I'm also the reason you guys almost weren't together, but thanks."

She shrugged. "I'm choosing to overlook that part because this is by far the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Thanks," He smiled. "That's really nice to hear right now."

"Of course," Clary gave him a short hug. "Maybe we can stay friends."

Brendon nodded. "I would like that, you are by far the coolest princess I have ever met. All the other ones are like..." He trailed off looking for the right word and so Clary helped him.

"Isabelle?" She guessed and he laughed. "Or possibly Magnus. I assume they're like one of the two, maybe a combo of both." She shivered. "Now that's a scary thought."

"Well anyway," He glanced back at his parents who were now getting into their limo. "I have to get going. Goodbye, Clary."

"Goodbye, Brendon. Thank you again for everything." She watched as he got into the car. He waved before closing the door and the car drove off.

Jocelyn walked over and put her arm around Clary as they watched the car drive away to the airport. "Whoever he marries is going to be a very lucky woman." The Queen stated and Clary chuckled.

"Agreed, I almost think I'm an idiot for not marrying him myself." Jocelyn looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow and Clary smiled. "But then I remember that I'm even luckier because I have Jace."

"Well," Jocelyn started and squeezed her daughters shoulders. "As long he treats you right and doesn't end up being an evil dictator 18 years later I'm fine with him." Clary laughed along with her mom.

"It's not too late for you," She said as the two turned back and entered the castle. "There could still be someone out there for you." As she said it Clary caught site of Luke talking with one of the servants about something. She noticed her mom looking in the same direction and squeezed her arm around her mother's waist. "Not too late at all."

"Oh shush," Jocelyn said and Clary laughed knowing she was right. This summer had turned out to be pretty great after all. "Why don't you go and find your friends, I need to discuss something with Luke."

"Mmhmm," Clary smiled as she walked backward away from her mom. "'Discuss something.' I got you." She winked before laughing and turning around. Before Clary could take a step though she ran into something very solid. She looked up to see that it had been Jace who was now smiling down at her.

"Just the person I was looking for," He said taking her hand in his.

"Oh?" She said. "And why's that?"

He shrugged. "Do I have to have a reason to want to see you?"

Her ears started to grow warm again and Clary shook her head as she stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to Jace's. "No, not at all." They walked together over to the stairs and Clary sat pulling Jace down beside her. "So how you feeling after today?"

"Well I mean at first I was pretty freaked out," He said playing with her fingers. "But you know, now I think I'm pretty confident with the idea of marrying you and becoming king." Jace looked down at Clary and when he did he sighed. "Yeah no, I'm still pretty freaked out."

"As long as you don't pull a Chandler from Friends on me and run out the day of," Clary said.

"Who from what?" Jace furrowed his eyebrows. Clary opened her mouth to respond but closed it. She was definitely going to need to add Netflix here.

"Nothing," She said. "I'm just really happy that we're finally together and all this drama is finally over."

"Me too," Jace smiled. "I've never really been one for commitment but with you," He paused and almost laughed. "With you, it's a completely different feeling. I'm ready to take on anything as long as you're by my side."

"Don't get all sappy on me," Clary said playfully slapping his chest. As they were both laughing, though, Simon suddenly came bounding around the corner with a look of fear and panic.

"Clary, thank god there you are," He exclaimed looking anxiously around the corner.

"Simon?" Clary said standing. "What's wrong?"

"I may have accidentally set a fire in the kitchen," He admitted. "And the head chef may be trying to actually murder me now." A pan suddenly flew by just as Simon said the last word. He yelped and set off running in the opposite direction.

"First thing I'm going to do when I'm queen," Clary said. "Ban Simon from the kitchen."

Jace laughed. "I'll second that motion."

"The second thing I'm going to do when I'm queen is get Netflix," Clary stated as she and Jace began walking about aimlessly.

"What's Netflix?" He wondered and Clary had to stop herself from groaning.

"Yeah," She sighed. "This place is going to need a _lot_ of work."

It was the perfect ending to what had not been anywhere near a perfect life. But it was Clary's life and that made it good enough. People say fairytales are only stories, but if that's true then Clary supposed all the stories are true. Because this was her fairytale ending.

 **Wow, I really hope y'all liked this little two part ending. It kinda pains me that another one of my stories is over. But tell me what kind of epilogues you'd like to read and I'll try to add a couple in the future. Please review and I will see you angels in my other stories.**


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